


Twin Spirits

by sergeanthax



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 08:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 57,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10081625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sergeanthax/pseuds/sergeanthax
Summary: Monsters and humans have been living together in relative peace for many years. Humans had finally began to accept the new race which they now shared the world with; but one monster's spur of the moment decision threatens to destroy one man's family, and worse, humanity's goodwill towards monsters. Can a monster and a human repair the damage that was done before it's too late? Or will the two of them be condemned for the rest of their lives?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work that I spent a lot of time on personally. It's a work that I know deserves more time to really refine, but my interests have moved on from Undertale, taking away my desire to rewrite this piece. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the story.

            The sound of crunching metal filled the air.

            Cosmin’s eyes shot up from his hands to the road in front of him. He scanned for the source of the revolting sound. His position sitting up in the cab of the truck gave him a view over the cars lined up in front of him. As loud as it was, it couldn’t have been far away. It didn’t take Cosmin long to find the source. In the oncoming lane sat a twisted hunk of fused metal that resembled two cars. To Cosmin, it appeared that a dingy white car had T-boned another, navy blue car, on the driver’s side. The navy blue car was terribly damaged, the car bent in a slight U shape from the impact. Cosmin hadn’t seen any movement from this car, nor from the other car. The dingy white car’s front end was thoroughly smashed, merged with the car in front of it, but otherwise appeared to be undamaged.

            Cosmin flipped on the hazards on his truck and shut the engine down before climbing down from the cabin. He needed to go and make sure that the occupants of both vehicles were OK. Cosmin jogged down the short line of cars until he reached the site of the accident. The navy blue car was closer, and he saw motion from inside the white car. Cosmin hunched his shoulders in the cold rain and peered in through the passenger side window, figuring that there wasn’t much chance of getting access to the driver through the driver’s side. What he saw revolted Cosmin. Occupying the driver's seat was an older man. He was slumped over towards the passenger side, his body resting broken over the center console. Blood dripped from him, falling down to the floorboards of the car. The airbag had deployed, but Cosmin surmised it probably didn’t do much to help protect the man from the impact. Cosmin was struggled to keep his composure at the sight of the mangled and broken human. If he was going to survive, Cosmin was going to need to get him out of the car to the help that was surely coming soon. His sensitive nose burned with the smell of fluids hitting hot metal as he opened the passenger side door and climbed in just far enough to get a grip on the man under his arm pits. He tried not to retch when he felt bones that were not connected to anything anymore, simply floating in the bag of flesh that was his body. Taking a calming breath, and swallowing hard, he pulled gently to try and dislodge the human from the car. His legs were pinned under the dash, and Cosmin was trying to pull as gently as he could to keep from hurting the human any further.

            After a few more tugs, being a little more forceful than he would have preferred, he finally dislodged the human from the driver’s seat in the car and got him out of the car, his heels dragging as he hauled him by his armpits several feet from the car before setting him down gently on the sidewalk. Now that Cosmin could get a good look at the human, he was incredulous that the human was even alive. It seemed to Cosmin just about every visible inch of skin was either bruised or bleeding, considering the amount of blood on his clothes. He continued to bleed, blood gushing forward to replace the blood which ran in steady streams from his face. Cosmin knew if he didn’t do something to help him, quickly, he wasn’t going to make it. He tried to remember some of the healing magic that his mom taught him. He hadn’t used any of it in many years, and it was difficult to recall. He never practiced it extensively; he only ever used very minor healing spells for things like paper cuts or small burns when he was cooking. Even those could prove taxing if the wound was extensive at all. Still, he tried desperately to remember the better healing spells before giving up and trying the weaker ones. Maybe they might at least buy enough time for the human doctors to help.

            Try he did, feeble green swirls of magic running up and down the human’s body, like some form of ethereal fire attempting to cauterize the wounds. However, the effect was minimal, perhaps only managing to slow the bleeding in the worst spots. The spell was simply too weak to do much good, and even putting everything he had into the weak magic wasn't enough. As Cosmin was trying to help the human, his HP dropped to 0, his injuries sapping the last of his HP. The human breathed his last, and Cosmin was cued in on the human’s death when a purple soul floated slowly, lazily, out of him. Cosmin gave up on his futile efforts once he saw what faintly glowed now in front of him. He was dismayed that he was unable to do anything to help the human. Now, however, the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to him. Right in front of him was a human soul, ripe for the taking. Like many, he always wondered what it would be like to have access to the power that rumor and legend proclaimed a human soul had. He looked around, noting that there weren’t any other monsters around. This was a human-centric part of town, which monsters would tend to not frequent. He knew no one else saw the soul except him, since humans could not see souls. Other humans were beginning to approach though, so he needed to make his decision quickly. In a snap decision, he gently corralled the soul towards his body with his hands.

            Cosmin gently pushed the soul through his chest. To any onlooker, it looked like he was giving a hug to some invisible entity, which his arms passed right through. He tensed as he felt it pass into his body, a gentle tingling sensation. Once its purple glow was extinguished, Cosmin paused a moment, expecting something to happen. Maybe he’d seen too many movies, but he’d expected _something_ to happen. Maybe not a big lightshow of magic spilling everywhere, but the anticlimactic nature unnerved Cosmin. Maybe somehow the soul slipped out of his hands, and went somewhere nearby? No, looking around he couldn't find it anywhere. So what happened? He didn't know.

            Cosmin pondered his disappointment as he heard the sounds of sirens getting close. As he was sitting there with the body like a sentinel, people approached, silent, looking hopefully at him. He shook his head at each one in turn, and every one of them shuffled away awkwardly, not wanting to get caught in explaining what they were doing there. Soon paramedics descended on the body, Cosmin silently releasing his guardianship of the body to them. It wasn’t long before they called for a bag for him, and he was carried away. The driver of the other car was being tended to by another pair of paramedics, and was whisked away in an ambulance with its lights on. Police arrived on the scene and questioned Cosmin about what happened. He told them what he knew, which wasn’t much, and was dismissed quickly after leaving his contact information with the officer. His truck was blocking traffic, creating a long queue of angry drivers behind it who cursed at him for delaying their trip home. He ignored them, not in the right frame of mind to deal with them. Dripping wet, Cosmin climbed into the truck and started it, turning the heater to full blast.

            As Cosmin drove, he looked at himself in the driver side mirror. His cat-like face looked more haggard than usual, eyes belaying the weariness of his soul. Cosmin’s pink nose and whiskers twitched anxiously, and to shake off water droplets which hung off his whiskers. His jet black fur had a silky sheen to it, even more so now since it was aided by the water permeating through it to his skin. Normally, his green eyes would have shown but today they only had a dull luster. Cosmin hunched forward in the seat, making him look small even though he was about the same size as most humans, around 6 feet tall, with a lean build that many humans coveted. His pointed ears perched on the top of his head were twitchy, overreacting to the faintest of sounds. His bare, pawed feet pressed the brake pedal, pushing harder than he normally would have in the rain. The truck shuddered and skid slightly to a stop a few cars back from the stop light, and Cosmin had begun idly wringing the steering wheel with his pink, rubbery pads, trying not to think about the horror he'd just witnessed.


	2. Chapter 2

            Cosmin dreaded having to explain his current appearance, knowing that he would have no choice but to. True to his thoughts, he caused quite a stir when he arrived at the warehouse that was the cargo’s final destination. Everyone was concerned about the fact that Cosmin was still pretty wet and covered in what appeared to be blood. He was quick to assuage fears, explaining what had happened to him along the way, of course leaving out the part about absorbing the man's soul. This calmed everyone down, and work as usual resumed, though there were still many whispers about what happened to Cosmin. The truck full of monster food was unloaded and Cosmin was finishing up the paperwork for the delivery in the warehouse’s office when his head suddenly started to ache, quickly growing into sharp pangs. He clutched his head and doubled over, growling from the sudden pain. As quick as it started, however, it ended. Looking around, he saw he was alone in the small office, so no one saw what had happened to him. he was more than a little concerned about the sudden nature of the headache. Headaches were uncharacteristic to Cosmin, especially the sudden severity of it. He felt faintly nauseous from the experience, making him decide that this would definitely be his last run for the day. He finished his paperwork, and saw that the truck was unloaded, so he hopped into the cab of the truck and set about returning the truck to the production center.

            Thankfully, the trip back was much less eventful than the drive up was. He had to go through the same motions of explaining what had happened to him, but didn't go into near as much detail as he had the first time retelling it, thus taking less time to retell it. He was already tired of reliving the experience, and honestly wanted to just forget about what happened. It was still too real for him, and he wanted to get some time as a buffer to distance himself from the events of the day. His boss was happy to sign him out for the day, and Cosmin went home, feeling increasingly uneasy.

            Cosmin unlocked the door to his apartment and walked inside. The entrance to the apartment opened up into the living room, and he sighed with relief to see the familiar interior of his home. The colorful artwork around the room never failed to boost his spirits, and today was no exception even if its power was dampened by today's events. The plush carpet felt wonderful on the bottom of his feet, and he wormed his toes into it. A small wood coffee table was in front of a red couch which was pushed up against the wall. It was covered in various bits of clutter, to which Cosmin added his keys, wallet, and phone.

            Cosmin padded over to the couch and plopped down, exhausted from the events of the day, which on top of the increasing disquiet that he felt, proved to be an uncomfortable mix. He idly turned the older model TV on, just wanting something to distract his thoughts from the gruesome images of the crash that refused to leave his mind. He toyed with the idea of calling his parents to talk to them about what had happened that day, to try and relieve some of the burden he felt. He decided it would be too much of a chore to call them tonight, though. It wouldn’t be just a ten minute call; it would inevitably spread out to at least an hour. He loved his parents to death, but he really wasn’t feeling up to talking for so long. He’d give them a call tomorrow once he felt better.

            After going through all of the channels several times and not being able to settle on any channel for long, Cosmin gave up and turned the TV off. He looked down at himself and realized that he had yet to change his clothes. He kicked himself, wondering how could he have forgotten to do that. Normally that would be the first thing he did when he got home, so he really _was_ feeling out of sorts. He got up from the couch and went into his bedroom, which was adjacent to the living room. Cosmin’s bedroom was painted the same neutral tone as the living room, and it had a window which had its blue curtains pulled shut. Rain pattered gently on the window, relentlessly refusing to let up. He walked over to his bed, which was unkempt, and grabbed a wad of clothes sitting in the middle of the bed, which consisted of a plain t-shirt and cotton shorts. Then, he walked to a small wood dresser next to his bed, and opened the top drawer and took out a clean pair of boxers. Cosmin then left the bedroom and went into the bathroom, which was the door adjacent to his bedroom. He undressed and stepped in the shower, turning the water to the hottest setting he could stand. The warmth felt good to Cosmin, soothing muscles tense from the stress of the day. Once he’d finished his shower and toweled off, he changed clothes before leaving the bathroom with the soiled clothes in hand.

            Cosmin held the shirt and pants up and examined them. Blood had stained several places on the shirt, and the rain had caused the blood to run and create red streaks down the white shirt and brown pants. He sighed, knowing that getting the stains out would take a lot of effort, if they would even come out. He decided that it would be easier to just buy a new set, and he could do without it because he had several other spares. He wadded up the shirt and pants, and walked through the living room, to the dining room and kitchen. He dumped the clothes in the trashcan in the kitchen and toyed with the idea of making something to eat. He wrinkled his nose at the idea, nothing he could think of sounding good. Maybe he’d simply go to bed, rather than try to do anything else for the evening. A warm bed sounded nice, so Cosmin went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed, brushing his teeth before climbing into bed, pulling the wrinkled covers over him. The light pattering of rain was soothing, and soon he was asleep.

            Cosmin wasn’t sleeping well, however. He tossed and turned late into the night, his body seeming to wrestle some invisible, unseen force. He kicked and lashed out, mostly unaware that he was doing anything at all other than sleeping. His face was scrunched up, as if he had been punched in the gut, lips pulling back to expose fangs. His breathing was labored, and eventually he couldn’t stay asleep any longer. Cosmin woke up, feeling like something was very, _very_ wrong. He had no idea what he should do, if he should do anything at all. He climbed out of bed and walked to the doorway using his good eyesight in the dark rather than turning a light on.

            Stepping out of his room, Cosmin turned to start walking towards the bathroom, but before he could even turn the muscles in his abdomen cramped, causing him to double over in pain. He dropped down on his knees, putting his hands on the ground as his body seemed to begin to contort, growing uniformly. The muscles all over his body were cramping horribly from the sudden change in size, and Cosmin howled from the pain. The tips of his fingers and toes felt funny, and Cosmin looked at one hand trying to figure out what was going on. Seeing nothing happening to his hand that could explain the feeling, he extended his claws and was shocked to see that they were longer than he remembered, and _growing_. What used to be modest, half inch claws had easily grown to two inches, and were _still_ growing longer. He was shocked beyond words. _What’s happening to me?_ he thought.

            Cosmin took a breath, trying to calm down his racing heart. Whatever was happening seemed to stop, and he took the opportunity to look over his body. He had clearly grown several inches. His shirt was too short to cover his body and tight over newly formed muscles, while his shorts were much too short for Cosmin’s liking, and not as loose as they were when he went to bed. His claws had finally settled down and were now easily 3” in length, curving into wicked sharp points. At least he was still able to retract them, hiding the now ferocious looking weapons. He hoped that it was all over, but the unease that plagued him had not wavered in the slightest.

            Cosmin’s stomach dropped when he felt small, sharp pinpricks of pain down his entire spine. He arched his back, feeling something _grow_ from his back. The t-shirt he was wearing grew taut, then began to rip, the sound reverberating in the quiet apartment. It was unnerving, and as much as he tried to twist around to see what was happening, he couldn’t turn to look. He lost focus on what was happening on his back when the top of head began to burn. He felt his ears shift forward slightly on his head. His hands reached up to his head and felt two, hard points growing longer on the top of his head. Cosmin whimpered, terrified at the lengths that whatever force was distorting his body was going to.

            As in response to Cosmin’s fear, he felt his relatively small teeth grow larger. And larger. Until they were so long that his lips no longer completely covered his teeth, forcing him into a perpetual snarl. His canines also grew longer, to the point where they were overlapping his bottom lip. By this time Cosmin was in great distress, nearly in tears from what was happening to him. He’d never heard of anything like this happening to a monster, and he didn’t know what to do.

            Finally, thankfully, the changes seemed to abate. Cosmin sat on the ground for a few minutes, waiting for more things to twist his body but nothing came. Cosmin got up unsteadily and walked into the bathroom to see what had happened, banging his head on the doorway. Ducking through the doorway and turning on the light, he was so shocked at what he saw he began weeping. Down his back, he’d grown what could only be described as _spines_ , colored a pearly white and about 6 or 7 inches long, from about the base of his neck to the base of his tail. Cosmin also now sported two, back-curving horns, which curved around the back of his head and came to a point near his cheeks. They were an ivory color, and Cosmin reached up to feel them with his hand. He felt their smooth form, and gave them a gentle to tug as if to confirm they really were now attached to the top of his skull. The gentle tugging sensation he felt on his head confirmed that they were, indeed, attached firmly to the top of his head. His tail had grown longer as well to match his proportions. He hadn’t noticed it before, but in the light he saw even his fur wasn’t spared from being changed. His silky fur had become coarser, not as soft as it used to be and it had lost its luster.

            Cosmin sat down on the toilet and cried for a while, being so troubled by what had just happened. He felt so lost and alone, not having any idea what to do. He grabbed a tissue from the bathroom counter and blew his nose loudly. Through the maelstrom of emotions, he knew he needed to get some help, find someone who could give him a clue about what was happening to him. He needed answers urgently, and waiting until morning wasn't an option. He got up off the toilet and left the bathroom, averting his eyes from the mirror. He walked to his bedroom, flipped the light on, and picked up his cell phone, which was plugged in next to his bed. He sat down on the bed and thought about who he could call. He thought about calling emergency services, but he didn't have a clue about how to explain what happened to him. Thinking about it, he didn’t know who he could call. The only other people he could think to call were his parents, but he was afraid of them seeing what had happened to him. He was at his wit’s end and needed someone _anyone_ to help him. Unfortunately, he was suddenly interrupted from making the call when his head exploded with pain. He screamed and thrashed with agony, and clutched his head as if to keep it in one piece. He wasn’t awake long, and soon passed out from the pain, slumping down on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

            Logan woke sluggishly, his mind lost in a haze. He was finding it hard to think coherently, finding that his thoughts slipped out of his grasp like water. One thought was clear: the annoying alarm blaring in his room needed to stop. The tone was different than any alarm he'd ever heard which, despite wanting to simply roll over and go back to sleep, was odd enough to warrant a peek from a half-closed eye. As he did, however, he came to realize that he was not in his bed, but instead was on the floor. _That’s odd._ He thought. _I’ve never rolled out of bed before, let alone slept on the floor after rolling off._ Logan pushed himself off of the floor into a sitting position, his body stiff from sleeping on the floor. His eyes resisted Logan’s efforts to open them, doing their best to stay closed so Logan could sleep some more. Slowly, however, Logan was able to coax his eyes open, rubbing them gently. What he found was not his bedroom, but instead someone else’s. Logan couldn’t understand why he was in someone else’s room, and his pulse began to quicken, the small jolt of adrenaline pushing away the desire to sleep.

            Wanting to shut off the annoying alarm, he searched for the source, which he discovered was a cell phone on the floor, its power cable sitting next to it disconnected. Logan picked up the phone and silenced it, and was startled to find not his pale arms, but instead saw _black, furry_ arms reaching to pick up the phone. He dropped the phone, too engrossed by his limbs, and examined the furry arms that he now appeared to be in control of. It finally dawned on Logan that he also no longer had a human nose in between his eyes, but instead he had a muzzle which extended much farther out than any human nose ever had. Logan was not liking what his senses were telling him, and he wondered if he’d finally lost it.

            _This has to be a dream._ Logan thought. _The most lucid dream I ever had too._ Logan started to get up, and managed to stand unsteadily for a few seconds before falling over onto the bed. Standing had felt wrong, and looking at his digitigrade feet he knew why. It felt like he was standing on his tip-toes because in a sense he _was_ standing on his tip-toes. That was this body's natural posture, and he would have to get used to it if he was going to walk anywhere. He tried again to stand up, this time being much more mindful. His body seemed to naturally help him stand, his tail working to correct for his poor balance. Slowly, using anything solid to keep upright, he walked out of the room, keen to explore this environment, in the hopes of ending the dream sooner.

            Logan left the bedroom, and found himself in a living room with a kitchen area on the far side. To his immediate right was a door, which he opted to take as it was closer than the door on the other side of the living room. The dim light seemed brighter than Logan had expected it to be, but he didn't dwell on this for long. He opened the door to find a bathroom. Out of curiosity, he searched for a mirror, which he found hanging over the sink.

            What he saw staring back at him in the mirror startled Logan. He cried out in alarm and nearly sprinted out of the bathroom, waiting for the beast that was in there baring its teeth at him to give chase. But he didn't run. Instead he examined the bestial figure in the mirror which mimicked his movements perfectly. He was beyond words at the horrifying thing that stared back at him. Its purple eyes with glowing white pupils moved frantically around, searching through every feature that could be seen in the mirror. In a last bid to prove that what he was seeing was real, he reached up to feel the face, the thing in the mirror  reached up and touched its face as well. He felt the coarse fur on his own face, and he could no longer fool himself. This was him for the moment.

            Logan didn't know whether to be horrified or to be awestruck. He searched his mind frantically for any reason other than this being an extremely lucid dream, trying to cling on to any explanation that made any sense, only to have each one crumble under the weight of reason. The only idea that remained, other than what Logan was experiencing being all too real, was that he was dreaming. He couldn’t remember going to sleep, and this was probably the most lucid dream anyone had ever had, but he refused to dismiss the notion. If this was a dream, Logan wanted to wake up right then and there. Waiting to have this dream end itself was not an option, not if he had anything to say about it. First thing he tried to wake himself up was a pinch on his arm. Nothing happened. So next he turned on the faucet and tried splashing cold water on his face. Nothing happened. Getting desperate, Logan slapped himself _hard_ across his face. The slap stung his face, apparently not knowing his own strength, but still the gruesome beast watched him in the mirror.

            _If this is a dream, I’m not waking up very easily,_ Logan was beginning to lose his cool, but he took a deep, calming breath. This was probably just one dream that he’d have to wait out. He had to be dreaming, so it _was_ just a matter of time before he woke up, after all. So Logan left the bathroom and examined the living room. He wasn’t sure what to do in the meantime until his alarm in the real world went off. He considered his options, but his thoughts were interrupted by a voice, its pitch and intonation different than Logan's internal 'voice'.

            _Ugh, what happened?_ The voice paused for a moment. _Wait, why am I standing in the middle of the living room?_ It asked.

            Logan searched the room for the source of the voice, unable to find anyone speaking. It spoke again, high pitched. _Why is my body moving on its own?!_ Logan’s fur stood on end from the phantom voice.

            Logan spoke to the room. He noticed his spoken voice sounded different than the voice he was used to, alien. “I don’t know. Where is your body? I don’t see anyone here but me.”

            Logan began to feel panic. There was something off about it, however. It felt...different. Like the feeling one has when they're empathizing with someone else, but must stronger. More specific.

            _But_ you _? I think you mean_ me. _I don’t know who or what you are, but I want control of my body back. You’ve got no right to take over someone else’s body-_

            Logan interrupted the voice, holding up his hand to silence this person. “Hey bub, listen. First off, I didn’t _take_ anything; I woke up this way. Secondly, who are you and where are you speaking from?”

            _My name is Cosmin Teodore. As to where I’m speaking from…from your mind, I guess? I’m in the room in the sense that my_ body _is in the room. Somehow, you, whoever you are, are controlling_ my _body._

            Logan laughed. He couldn’t help it; the ridiculousness of the dream he was experiencing was just too much. Not only was he in someone else’s body, but they were still present in that body as well, and even fully aware of what was going on even as he moved their body against their will. He walked over and had a seat on the couch, laughing some more. He started to lean back on the couch, but he felt a sharp prick on the tail he forgot he had when a spine poked it. Logan could feel anger well up from the other being in apparent reaction.

            _You think this is funny?!_ Cosmin raged. _Who are you to laugh? You’re stuck in a body not your own! Aren’t you at least a little concerned by that? The world only knows you as Comin Teodore, not as…whoever you are. What is your name, by the way?_

            “My name’s Logan Oliwier. And why should I be concerned? This is just a dream, after all. There’s no way this could happen in real life.” Logan smiled, or what he supposed approximated a smile from this form.

            _Oh yeah? If it’s all a dream then what was the last thing you remember happening?_ Cosmin asked hotly.

            Logan thought on that for a minute. He remembered leaving the office, the rain messing his hair up, driving home, talking to his wife on the way home about the girls’ grades…but nothing past that. There was something scratching at the back of his mind, just out of reach. Something that happened on the way home. It was as if something was preventing him from recalling the events before waking up here. Logan felt those alien emotions again, this time  bewilderment. He was quick to recognize that he was probably feeling what this 'Cosmin' was feeling, if what he was saying was true. Logan was unsure of why Cosmin would feel that way until images of himself on the ground bruised, broken, and bloodied flashed into his mind’s eye. It was as if he were there, handling the limp form that was Logan. Logan was terrified at the experience, sitting bolt upright on the sofa, and immediately needed to know what that was he saw.

            “Holy smokes, what was that? Why did I just see myself as if I’d been fed through a friggin’ meat grinder?” Logan curled up into something resembling a fetal position, on the edge of tears.

            Cosmin was quiet, unsure of how to proceed. Given what Logan had just said, he could confirm then what he had suspected, and he too was struggling to swallow the truth.

            _I…don’t know how to explain it, and even to me it doesn’t make sense…but nothing else fits…_ Cosmin paused for a beat. _You were able to see my thoughts? I was thinking about the man I…helped…after a car crash. That was_ you?

            Logan closed his eyes. “Yeah…that was me. Or at least, what remained looked like me.” A moment of silence as the weight of what Logan was about to say caused his throat to catch. “But if that was me…does that mean…” Logan trailed off, unable to complete the sentence.

            Cosmin didn’t hesitate to complete Logan’s sentence. _Yes. You died. I know that’s a lot to deal with right now, but I can explain. Just shut up for a minute while I tell you what I think I know. And please, don’t be too angry at me._ Logan put his head in his hands, not wanting to hear any more of impossible things, and instead wanting to wake up from this nightmare.

            “This will definitely be the most memorable nightmare I've ever had.”

            _The reason that you’re here, right now, in my body, is most likely because I absorbed your soul._

            A moment’s pause as the weight of what Cosmin had just said sunk into Logan. “You...what...?” He said slowly, rage beginning to boil.

 _I was too curious to let it go. And it was_ right there. _I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find out if the legends were true. They say that a monster with a human soul is very powerful, and who doesn’t want power?_

            Logan was speechless. He’d heard the stories that monsters could do this, and many feared what might happen should a monster get a human soul, but as it had yet to happen in Logan’s time, it sort of existed in the realm of being only hypothetically possible, not the sort of thing that actually happens. Yet, impossibly, here was Logan controlling a monster’s body because he had stolen his soul. His rage built, lashing waves of fury. Logan felt as if some intimate part of him had been violated. In a sense it had been.

            “What were you thinking?!” He yelled to the room. He uncurled himself and gesticulated wildly. “No, you obviously weren’t thinking. If you had given even a moment’s thought you would have realized that I would not have wanted to have my eternal peace snatched away from be because you were _curious_. Instead, now I’m in the body of a freak monster, trapped in a form that nearly gave me a heart attack to see in the mirror. I can’t talk to my family because they think I’m _dead_ , and even I wasn’t dead I wouldn’t want to terrify my daughters because I’m a friggin’ monster!” Logan ran his hands through the fur on his head, as if he were smoothing the hair that he once had as a human. The claws on his hands had extended unconsciously in his rage, and Logan could feel them grazing his scalp.

            Cosmin was not going to take being insulted so lightly. _I’m sorry I’m not perfect! And I never imagined that it would be like this, and if I’d have known what would happen I would have destroyed your soul right then and there out of mercy. I always thought that the soul would just, I don’t know, exist quietly in my body. I never could have dreamed it would take complete control over my body. If_ you _think it’s hard waking up in someone else’s body, imagine waking up in your own body but now you’re only able to watch, helpless as your body moves against your will. And just so you know I didn’t always look like what you humans call a 'monster'. I used to actually look nice, respectable, handsome even. But whatever happened to me after absorbing your soul has warped my body, twisting it to the point I’m almost not even recognizable anymore. This is just as much of a raw deal for me as it is for you._

            The two were silent, trying to grapple with the situation they were now in. Logan ground his teeth, wanting desperately to wake up from this living nightmare. _What do I do now?_ Logan thought. He wrung his hands, trying to come up with a solution.

            _I don’t know what_  you _are going to do now, but_  I _think we should go and get some help. Neither of us have a clue what’s going on, but maybe someone else might._

            Logan was unnerved by the response to something he said only in his mind's voice. “Who’s going to help us? We can’t very well call emergency services and say ‘Yes, hello? I’m a soul who’s not in my own body. Can you send someone to help us, please?’ The doctors I know won’t have a clue how to help us either. Any person I would immediately think to turn to would turn me away as if I was crazy. Which I sound crazy to myself even.”

            _Well, there’s at least one place that might be able to help us. Maybe no human-centric services would be able to help, but I can think of one organization that might be able to. MRRG might be able to help us get out of this mess._

            The acronym tickled the back of Logan’s mind. He’d heard of it before, but couldn’t put his finger on anything concrete. “What’s MRRG?” He asked.

            _Monster Rights and Research Group. Basically an organization created to help monsters adapt to life on the surface. That group is primarily responsible for many of the rights monsters hold today. They also are the largest organization researching ways to improve the quality of life for monsters. If there’s any organization that can help us, they would be the ones with the knowledge to do it. It stays well-funded through donations, so they’d also have resources to assist us. It's the clearest choice for us to make._

            Hearing the name, Logan remembered why the name sounded familiar. That acronym was tossed around basically any time that monster rights were discussed on the news. Logan disagreed with their stance on many occasions, feeling that the reforms they were often pushing for were overreaching, making them something of an enemy in Logan's eyes. That was as a human. Now that he was, at least in appearance, a monster, maybe they might be his greatest ally.

            But still he had reservations. “Oh. That's right, I remember who they are.” He said flatly.

            _Now what's wrong with going to them? If you have another idea, I'm all ears._

            He didn't have any better ideas, unless he wanted to try his luck at a hospital. His luck didn't seem good today.“No, I don't.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I _guess_ we can try them.”

            Cosmin was elated. _Yes! I was hoping you would give them a try first. I wasn’t sure if I could convince you to give it a try. If we’re going to go though, we should go ASAP. I don’t want to be like this any longer than we have to._

            “Well, I don’t know what monsters consider acceptable dress, but a ripped t-shirt and shorts that are too small doesn’t qualify as acceptable dress to me. Where are all your clothes?” Logan inquired.

            _In my closet, where everyone’s clothes are, duh. Though if these shorts don’t fit we may have a hard time finding anything here that_ will _fit._

            Logan was already becoming tired of Cosmin’s abrasive tone, but he brushed it off so as to not anger him any further and walked into the bedroom, finding the closet and rifling through the clothes. Cosmin directed him to a pair of white sweatpants with three blue stripes down the side of the leg, which he knew were big on him before. They would be too short, only reaching down to the middle of his shins, but at least they weren’t likely to be too tight. However, Cosmin was stumped when it came to a shirt. Thanks to the combination of the spines and the extra size, none of Cosmin’s shirts would be wearable. While it wasn’t exactly a faux pas for a monster to not wear a shirt, it certainly was considered polite, especially to humans. However, there simply weren’t any options available to them, so the two decided it was better to not wear one at all rather than ruining another.

            Logan started to take the shirt off to change into the new clothes, forced to rip it off because of the spines which pinned it to his back. Cosmin talked while he tore the shirt off.

            _Now you listen here, alright? You keep your eyes off of my junk while you change pants. No peepin’, you hear?_

            Logan rolled his eyes, his tone biting. “Like I even wanted to see your _junk._ You don’t have anything to worry about, trust me. This is awkward enough having to change someone else’s clothes. Not going to go looking for any more awkwardness.”

            Logan got the pants changed without incident and set about looking for shoes to wear. As he was searching the bottom of the closet, Cosmin piped up.

            _What are you looking for? Aren’t we wearing everything we need to go out?_

            “No, we still need to put some shoes on. Where are all your shoes?” Logan asked genuinely.

            Logan could hear Cosmin laughing in his head. His cheeks flushed, ears pinned back on his head. _Oh, that’s funny. Many monsters don’t wear shoes, the pads on our feet are just as good as soles on shoes._

            “Hmph. Fine. Where’s your keys, wallet, et cetera?” Logan asked curtly.

            _On the coffee table in the living room. Don’t forget my phone from the nightstand by my bed._

            Logan got up from the floor of the closet and walked over to the nightstand, where he found the phone carelessly dropped on the floor. He bent over and picked it up, sliding it into a pocket before leaving the bedroom. He looked to the coffee table and scanning over the clutter on top, saw the remaining two objects needed to leave the apartment. Logan scooped them up off the table and dropped them in the other pocket on his pants before leaving the apartment, locking the door as he went.


	4. Chapter 4

            Logan hated having to order a ride. Owning a car was seen as a luxury in the age where you could hail an autonomous car from your phone and have a ride in minutes without the hassle and expense of maintaining a car. Logan owned his car for two reasons. One was he hated being in the same car as a complete stranger, and he was always too cheap to pay to have the ride to himself in order to solve this problem. Two, he always seemed to get the car that either someone had dumped their jumbo soda all over the seat, or when the car arrived a cloud of cigarette smoke would waft out of the car. Logan didn’t have a choice, however, as Cosmin did not own a car himself. Using Cosmin’s money, he paid the extra to guarantee he’d have the car to himself. Cosmin complained about Logan deliberately spending more of _his_ money, but the last thing Logan wanted at the moment was to deal with other people.

            A short drive later, they arrived at MMRG headquarters. It resided in the area with the densest population of monsters, which was obvious pretty quickly to Logan. It was a moderately sized building. It was well maintained, sporting a dazzling array of bright colors which somehow seemed to all match. The building bustled with activity, and monsters of all shapes and sizes went in and out of the building. Logan was uneasy being around so many monsters, so he walked quickly to the front doors, avoiding eye contact as much as possible, and went inside. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that there were a few of them which were staring at him, which only hastened his pace.

            Logan stepped through the front door into a large lobby. It was decorated in a style similar to the exterior of the building, but with slightly more restraint. Signs hanging from the ceiling pointed towards different departments in the building. In the center was a large, circular desk with several different monsters sitting behind it.

            “Okay Cosmin. Where do we go to get help?” Logan asked as he looked over some of the signs.

            _How would I know? It’s not like I spend every day here, or even come that often these days. It’s been months since I was here, and it’s not like I’ve ever had this problem before._

            “Hey, this was your idea, not mine. Where am I going?” Logan hissed.

            Cosmin was exasperated. _Ugh, aren't you a grown man? Look, just go to the front desk and explain what’s happened. I’m sure they’ll be able to direct us to someone who can help us._ Logan rolled his eyes in response, garnering a few more stares.

            Logan crept up to the desk, eyes looking everywhere as if he was afraid of being followed. The receptionist at the desk was typing away at her computer, apparently engrossed in her work. She didn’t even notice Logan until he rapped his hand on the desk. She turned, and started to address Logan when her breath caught in her throat, and a look of surprise crossed her face. She coughed, trying to disguise her small moment of shock.

            “Excuse me. How can I help you?” She looked a little wary of Logan, but was doing her best to disguise it under a polite smile.

            “Look, I need some help.” Logan said. “Today I...I woke up and discovered that my soul had been absorbed by this monster that I’m currently controlling. I need some help getting us separated.”

            The receptionist looked at Logan as if he’d grown a third eye. “You what?” She said skeptically.

            “I told you, my human soul was absorbed by this monster and I need to be separated from him.” Logan was despairing, expecting this to happen and sad that his theory was being proven too.

            “Ok, uh. I think I know someone who can help you. If you’ll go down the hall to my left, and look for Dr. Anderson’s office, we have doctors who can help you deal with the issues you’re facing.” She said consolingly.

            Logan turned to start heading in the direction that she indicated when he noticed the large signs stated that the psychiatry office was in the same direction, and no other offices that way could possibly be of any relevance. Logan sighed. She thought he was just delusional, and needed a shrink to help him. _How can I prove that I’m not crazy?_ Logan thought.

            _Well that was short-sighted to not see this coming_ _._ Cosmin responded.

            _Ya don't say..._

            After a few beats Logan felt excitement. _Oh, I got it! Maybe she’ll be able to pull your soul out of your body! Monsters were all taught how to do that when we were underground, so she should know how. In fact, that might even be able to solve this right here, right now! Or maybe at least expose it enough that she’ll be able to prove we’re not crazy._

            _It’s worth a try, I suppose._ Logan thought.

            “Look, if you don’t believe me, then try pulling the human soul in me out. I’m told monsters can do that sort of thing.” Logan said.

            The receptionist maintained that polite smile she had mastered many years ago while weighing her options. Logan could almost see the decisions flowing through her mind as she considered his offer.

            After several beats of Logan's heart, she responded, speaking slowly as if she wasn't sure of what was coming out of her mouth. “Ok. I’ll give it a try if you promise me that when there isn’t a human soul for me to grab on to, you’ll go get the help you need.”

            “Fine, whatever. Just give it a try.” She raised her hand, a smug look on her face as she sent small magical tendrils towards Logan’s chest, which snapped taut, anchored to something in his chest. Her eyes went wide, and Logan felt a gentle tugging sensation all over his body, and before he knew it, a faint purple glow could be seen through his fur. Before anything more could happen the tendrils glowed strongly, then snapped simultaneously in a small spray of sparks, stifling the purple glow. Her mouth hung agape in utter disbelief. The monster sitting next to her, whom had started listening in on the conversation simply looked confused. Without saying anything more to Logan, she held up a finger and picked up the phone before dialing an extension.

 

* * *

 

            Frisk was in his office when the phone rang. Looking at the small display on the phone, he could see that it was the front desk calling. Frisk sighed, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. Yet another person who was probably asking for him by name to help them with some issue they had. Maybe they were dealing with a troublesome landlord, or having trouble getting into a local university. He didn’t mind helping on the small stuff from time to time to stay in touch with the people he was defending, but it was getting ridiculous with the number of people who were asking for him by name. This is why the organization paid people, so that Frisk would have time to work on very important things, like securing the right to leave the country. Doing everything for the organization simply wasn't possible for Frisk to do anymore. He put his glasses back on before picking up the phone.

            “Look, Marion, I get that people want the great Frisk to solve their problems, but there’s a point where I’ve got to get some work done. What’s the problem today?” Frisk listened to her talk on the other end for a minute, and his irritation was slowly replaced with dread, the color draining from his face.

            “You’re sure?” He said, and paused for the answer. “Okay. Send him up. And Marion, I want you to keep this confidential. Tell no one, okay?” Another pause. “Thanks.” Frisk hung up the phone and twiddled his thumbs, planning his next steps.

 

* * *

 

            Logan stepped out of the elevator into a small lobby area. Directly in front of him he saw a hallway lined with doors, which he assumed were offices. The décor had changed from the whimsical, colorful of the lobby area to a more restrained, corporate style. The receptionist had said that Frisk’s office would be the last door on the right of the hallway. Logan strode quickly to the door, ignoring the looks from humans and monsters as he passed by them. He checked the nameplate beside the door, and was relieved that he had indeed found the correct office before opening the door and stepping in. Once inside, he found himself in another small room, and there was yet another receptionist there, guarding the door to Frisk’s office. She didn’t even look up from her work, instead simply waving Logan towards the door behind her. Logan thanked her before opening the door.

            Logan passed through the doorway into an office which was decorated more lavishly than the rest of the building had been, but was hardly extravagant. On the far side of the room, a large window looked out onto the city street, but the building wasn’t tall enough for a great view, only really able to see the building next to it. Bookshelves filled with series of books that Logan thought looked like encyclopedias were on one side of the office, while the other side was rows of filing cabinets, which also had an assortment of boxes stacked on top. Finally, in the middle of the room was a large wooden desk, and behind it sat the man who could supposedly help Logan.

            Frisk was around 5’10” Logan guessed, with short brown hair which was stylishly arranged. He didn’t look unhealthy, but he carried a few extra pounds and looked like he was a little…world-weary was the only way Logan could describe it. His brown, almond-shaped eyes were staring off into space until they locked with Logan's eyes. Logan froze just in front of the doorway, unsure how to proceed. The door closed itself behind Logan, making him jump a little bit. Frisk too, seemed unsure with what to do with the creature that just broke his trance. He’d never seen a monster who looked anything like Logan, and that was saying something. Frisk took a steadying breath and spoke.

            “Good morning. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. Logan slowly had a seat in the chair, which was a little too small for him, and sat back in the chair only to be reminded of his spines too late, creating a series of small rips down the back of the chair.

            “Oops, I’m so sorry.” Logan said apologetically, fidgeting in the chair.

            Frisk waved him off. “It’s fine. You’re not the first to do something like that. What’s your name?”

            “Whose name? Mine or the monster’s whose body I’m stuck in?” Logan asked.

            Logan could tell Frisk was perplexed by the response. “Who am I speaking to right now?”

            “You’re speaking to Logan Oliwier, the human whose soul was unwillingly ripped out of his body. The monster’s name whose body I'm apparently possessing is Cosmin Teodore.”

            Frisk thought on that for a moment. “So then you two are sharing control of the body, and you, Logan, are in control at the moment?”

            Logan scrunched his eyebrows together and cocked his head. “No. I've been the one in control of the body ever since I woke up. Why would you think we share control?”

            Frisk's eyebrows shot up. “You have complete and total control? Cosmin can’t use his own body?”

            “Yeah, he can't do anything now. I wish I could give him control back, but I can’t. Or don’t know how. I don’t know, this is all so unfamiliar to me.” Logan's foot tapped nervously.

            Frisk knew of only one person who had experienced what Logan and Cosmin are going through, and they were not a trustworthy source of information. Not anymore.

Frisk crossed his hands together on top of his desk and leaned forward, looking Logan in the eye. “So tell me, what happened to get you caught in this situation?”

            “You phrase it like it was my choice.”

            “Then explain to me what happened, please.”

            “Look, all I know is I was driving home and I…I got into an accident. A bad one. I didn’t even remember anything until Cosmin showed me…what I looked like…” Logan felt his snarl intensify. A few silent breaths brought his breathing back under control. “Either way I didn’t make it. I died and Cosmin took my soul. Next thing I know, its morning and I’m in Cosmin’s body. That pretty much covers what I know.”

            Frisk nodded. “What about Cosmin? Does he have any extra insight into what happened?”

            _Yeah, I do. There’s a period of time you were evidently not awake or something. Tell him that I felt funny for a while after absorbing your soul, then that night my body changed and warped._

            “He says that he felt funny after absorbing my soul, and then the same night his body changed.” Logan relayed

            Frisk perked up at Logan’s statement. “Changed? Changed how?”

            Let's see here, _I grew several inches, the spines and horns I have now been graced with grew, my claws are now much longer, and my teeth are now uncomfortably large_. _All of them friggin' terrifying to go through._

            “He grew taller, spines and horns grew, claws got longer, and teeth grew larger. Basically everything to make him look more terrifying.” Logan scoffed.

            _Thanks for downplaying it._ Cosmin said sarcastically.

            “Intriguing. I wonder why that happened…” Frisk trailed off in thought.

            “So can you help us?” Logan asked expectantly.

            Frisk was tapping his fingers on his chin, but stopped suddenly at Logan’s question. He stared into the distance for a beat before answering. “Well, we’ll certainly do what we can to help you. Getting both of you separated can probably be done, but I’d have to consult with our researchers to be sure.” Frisk paused in concern at the look of abject terror that graced Logan’s countenance. “Logan, is everything all right?”

            Logan’s pulse was racing. “Wait, it just dawned on me. I don’t want just separation. Separation without some other help means I’ll…I'll be dead. _Truly_ dead.” He locked eyes with Frisk. “I…I’m not ready to die. I’ve got family, kids….” His eyes were welling up. “Please, there must be something you can do.” Logan’s eyes bored into Frisk's skull.

            Disdainful, Cosmin said _What? Why are you even asking him? As hard as it is to deal with, you can’t expect him to bring you back from the dead. Even magic has limits._

            “Shut up Cosmin! What do you know?” Logan barked to the room. Frisk lurched back from the desk, not expecting the outburst. Logan realized his mistake and quietly spoke. “Sorry. It’s easy to forget that I’m the only one who can hear him.”

            Frisk nodded, his expression grave. He regained his composure. “Logan, you have realize what you’re asking me to do, don't you?”

            “I mean, surely we can work something out, right?” Logan said hopefully. Cosmin sighed.

            “You’re asking me to effectively bring the dead back to life. That is something that’s a huge longshot to do, likely impossible, even as advanced as our research is.”

            Logan laughed, a low mirthless thing. “That's exactly what Cosmin just said.” He shook his head.

            Frisk sighed. “Look, we’ll see what we can do. But you need to be prepared in the event that we’re not successful in anything but separating you two. Don't expect that we'll be able to do anything for you other than help you move on.”

            Logan nodded, now resolute that he would not let this man keep him from geting back to his family. He’d been given an opportunity that many could only dream of, and he wouldn’t squander it. Not on something so important. “Fine. Even if I fail, no one ever has to know I existed in this state.”

            _No, you need to get out of my body. Not hang around for years trying to chase something that doesn't exist._ Cosmin said. Logan didn't dignify that with a response.

            Frisk was unconvinced. He leaned forward in his office chair, resting his elbows on the desk. “I'm not so sure. Keeping this a secret would be difficult at best, impossible at worst.”

            Logan scrunched his eyebrows together, perplexed by Frisk's statement. “Why not? No one outside of this room knows about me.”

            Frisk chastised Logan, his expression somber. “Even if that were true, you're going to have a hard time pretending to be Cosmin. Anyone who's close to him at all will be able to tell something's off. That's even leaving out the more obvious problem of Cosmin looking more than a little different than he used to. Care to enlighten me on how you'll explain that?”

            Logan was dumbfounded. _Huh, he does have a good point. I was always known for my good looks._ Cosmin mused.

            Frisk continued, not giving Logan long to answer. “Besides, I have bigger concerns with attempting to cover you up.”

            Logan snapped out of his stupor. “Hey, I never said anything about a cover-up. I'm _asking_ to be kept secret, not being forced by you locking me in the basement.”

            Frisk sighed. “No matter what you say when you're discovered, and it certainly will be, it's going to look very much like a cover-up. It makes us look guilty, as if we had done some sort of crime even if nothing illegal was done. That guilt wouldn't end at just Cosmin either; unfortunately it would reflect on all monsters, likely rendering the great strides of progress towards equal respect for monsters moot. We already made the mistake once of thinking we could keep a secret and that nearly resulted in the ruin of monsterkind. Making the same mistake again could prove fatal.” Frisk leaned back in his office chair, the chair groaning in response to the shifting weight.

            _Jeez, I wish he wasn't right. I don't want to have to deal with the world knowing what happened._ Cosmin languished.

            _Neither do I. And it's your fault if he does tell, because I didn't want to come to him._ Logan thought angrily.

            _Oh yeah? You went along with my idea, liked it well enough to pick it over any of your own. Oh wait, that's right, you didn't have any!_

            Their argument was interrupted by a polite cough from Frisk. “Sorry, arguing with Cosmin.” Logan said. “All of that is if anyone did find out. Would it really be that hard to keep a secret? So few people here will know who I truly am. Besides, don't you care how Cosmin and I feel about having the spotlight put on us?” Logan was getting desperate, afraid that the one person he turned to for help may decide to do the one thing he _didn't_ want him to do.

            Frisk shook his head sadly. “I know even better than you do what will happen to you once humanity knows. However, I still can't justify risking the little reputation we've worked so hard to gain for keeping things more comfortable for the two of you.”

            Logan's stomach fluttered with their combined anxiety. _Logan, you better not let him doing anything like that. It would end poorly for both of us. I don't know why you're so gun-ho on keeping all of this secret, but please get a spine and stop him somehow._ Cosmin commanded.

            _What do you think I've been doing?!_

            “It's not about small comforts!” Logan nearly hollered, but held himself back instinctively. “It's about not having to deal with having the world watching my every move; about not having to deal with Cosmin's parents; it's about not having to...to...” Logan's voice wavered and died. He looked away from Frisk and rubbed his eyes.

              _Oh god, Logan. Wouldn't you_  want   _to see your family?_

            _I don't want to see them like this. They deserve to have their last memory to be as I was, not as I am now._ Logan's tone was despondent, but resolute.

            Cosmin started to berate Logan when Frisk talked over him, allowing Logan to tune Cosmin out. Frisk had taken his glasses off and was rubbing his eyes as he spoke. “Look, I'll think about it, okay?” Frisk put his glasses back on and regained his composure. “Cosmin, are you going to be able to get some time off? Quite possibly for a long time?” Frisk asked.

            Cosmin's tirade was pushed to the background, and was replaced by uncertainty. _Well, yeah. I'd just have to take myself off the schedule. Boss'll understand, but how will we live without a job? Not like I've got enough in savings to live without any income for a while._

            “He says yes, but he wonders how we'll pay the bills without a job.” Logan relayed.

            “That's fine. I'll make sure you're taken care of until we get this mess sorted out. Can you go get that figured out?” Logan agreed, and he excused himself into the hallway so he could make a call.

            Once Logan had left, Frisk picked up the phone and dialed an extension. He used this particular exension often, and had it memorized. The phone rang several times before an irked voice responded from the other end.

            “Yes Frisk, what is it? You know how much I hate talking on the phone, so why are you calling me?” The nasally voice said.

            “Alphys, you know I wouldn't be calling if this wasn't important. I need to see you now, something's...come up. I don't trust anyone else with it at this point, and you will have the most experience with our...problem.”

            There was silence on the other end of the line for several beats. “O-okaaaay. Let me just, uh, wrap up what I was working on and I'll head your way, I guess? Is this really that important that it can't wait? I'm in the middle of something and you haven't really explained anything about this 'problem'.”

            “I know you have a lot of questions right now, and you'll have more once you know what's going on, but I'll answer them all once you get here. I'll see you in a few minutes.” Frisk hung up the phone. If he didn't hang up she would have kept asking questions, and he'd much rather explain in person and get it over with in one go.

            Logan came back into the office, closing the door behind him before having a seat again across from Frisk. “Done. That was very uncomfortable to do, but Cosmin, as of now, is on indefinite leave of absence from work. We are all yours. Whatever you'd want to do with us.” Logan shrugged.

            Frisk crossed his hands on top of the desk and leaned forward. “Logan, there is someone I would like you to meet. She's probably the most knowledgeable of any of my staff with respect to the nature of a human soul, and the most likely to be able to help you. She's on her way now and should be here right about...” He paused for a couple moments. “...now.” He pointed at the door and, right on cue, someone knocked on the door. Logan stared at Frisk in amazement. “Come in.” Frisk called to the person on the other side of the door.

            The door opened slowly, a squat, yellow lizard stepping through the door frame. Her lab coat swayed gently around her as she came to a stop in the room. Logan was already turned around to look at the newcomer, and seeing his visage set her aback, if only for a moment before she cleared her throat to speak.

            “Y-you needed to see me, F-Frisk?” She stuttered with a nasally voice. She adjusted her round glasses and shuffled her feet slightly. The tip of her thick tail, which peeked out from under the lab coat twitched.

            “Yes Alphys. I'm happy you could take time out of your busy schedule to meet here. There's just one thing before we begin the introductions.” Frisk paused for a moment. “Alphys, I need you to keep what we're about to discuss quiet. At least for now.” Logan cast a glare at Frisk, but Frisk did not acknowledge it.

            Alphys was apprehensive about what business she was about to get into. “Um... Yeah? I can k-keep quiet if you n-need me to. What's this all about, anyways?” Alphys was giving Logan quick, furtive glances in Logan's direction trying her best to not stare.

            “Alphys, I would like you to meet Logan, the first human soul to be absorbed since the barrier was broken.”

            Alphys' eyes went very wide. “D-d-did I just h-hear you right? He absorbed a _human soul_?”

            Frisk nodded slowly. “You heard me correctly. Logan is a human soul sharing a monster body. It's what we were trying to prepare for.”

            Logan raised an eyebrow at Frisk. Alphys responded to Frisk, “Yes, we did t-try, but you know as well as I do that we never got anywhere. It's hard to study something without having that thing to...well, study.” Alphys shrugged. “Maybe now I can finally make some progress.” Her eyes widened at her statement, and she began to sweat a little bit. “Umm, not that I'm happy a human soul was absorbed.” She stammered.

            Logan was agitated by their words. “You guys were expecting this to happen? Why didn't you prevent this from ever happening?”

            Frisk look at Logan like he was being exceptionally thick, and Logan could feel Cosmin's  condescension at Logan's question. “Yes, we expected it to happen. Most humans expected it to happen, why wouldn't we? I believe the people I defend every day are good, honest people, but there's too much temptation to think that a monster might never try it. Quite frankly, I'm surprised it took this long, which I would suggest is a testament to the inherent goodness of monsterkind. Even the best people, when given an opportunity like Cosmin had, can't resist the opportunity when presented with it.”

            Logan shrunk down into his chair a little. He decided then that maybe he should just keep his mouth shut.

            _Yep, that's probably a good idea since you seem to like to ask stupid questions._ Cosmin said, berating Logan.

            Logan scowled, starting to rebuff Cosmin when Frisk spoke up, an edge to his voice. “Logan, it would be a good idea to treat us with some respect. We only want to help you, and being hostile towards us isn't going to help that.” Logan was confounded for a moment until he realized what had happened, and began apologizing profusely.

            “Oh no, I'm sorry. Cosmin said something...not so nice to me. I wasn't reacting to you, but to him. I'm very sorry for that.”

            Frisk's posture noticeably relaxed. “Apology accepted. I will try to keep in mind that you can have someone speaking to you that I am unable to hear.” A pause. “I believe we were at introductions before we were sidetracked. Logan, this is Alphys, our head researcher. She oversees all of the scientific projects around here and does some fantastic work of her own. She's also the only one on staff with any prior experience researching human souls.” Alphys gave a shy, half-hearted wave, clearly flattered by Frisk's kind words.

            “Oh Frisk, you're too kind. What I do around here isn't something that the others couldn't do. It's nice to meet you Logan.” She smiled at Logan.

            _Hey, don't forget about me. I'm still here ya know!_ Cosmin complained.

            “And Cosmin. Cosmin is here too.” Logan said, rolling his eyes.

            Alphys picked up on Logan's meaning immediately. “Oh, right. It's nice to meet you too Cosmin. I'm sorry that you were forced into this situation. I'll do everything in my power to help you, that I can guarantee.” She smiled at Logan.

            Logan cocked his head. _Really? I think she's gone and gotten us both confused, Logan._ Cosmin said, annoyed by the misinterpretation.

            _Yeah, I figured out myself. As much as you seem to think I'm an idiot, I can think sometimes._ Logan responded.

            “Uh, I think you've got us both confused. Me, Logan, is the human while Cosmin is the monster whose body I'm currently occupying.” Logan said self-consciously.

            It took Alphys a moment to process Logan's comment. “Wait a minute, you mean the human soul is in control? Are you two sharing control?”

            Logan grimaced slightly. “Well, not exactly. Cosmin has no control at all that I know of. I've just sort of walked around as if this were my own body, I guess.”

            Alphys adjusted her glasses and looked at Logan with a new perspective. “Fascinating. I wonder what sort of interesting interactions are happening between your soul and Cosmin's that results in complete motor function loss for Cosmin. I _definitely_ need to get some data.” Alphys seemed excited by the prospects.

            “Well then, we'll get started sooner rather than later since helping Logan is now of special importance. Shall we go to your lab, doctor?”


	5. Chapter 5

            The company made their way through the building to Alphys' lab. On his way into the lab, Logan knocked his horns against the top of the door frame, growling in irritation at the hard protrusions. It was proving to be a struggle to deal with the fact that he was now much taller than he was used to in his previous body. The lab, which was fairly spacious, appeared very clinical to Logan, with its white tile floor and ceilings. Pretty much every other surface was either gray or stainless steel. Large machines set near the back of the room, some powered down while others emitted a gentle hum. The counter-tops scattered around the room were all cluttered with a variety of tools, instruments, papers, and electronic components. On second glance, Logan figured that Alphys must be repairing some of the equipment herself. There was one thing that stuck out to Logan, which was that all of the counters were lower than he would have normally expected them to be. They all seemed to be a good height for Alphys, however.

            Alphys walked to the back of the room, talking as she went. “Um, please excuse the mess. I've been meaning to clean up for a while now...just been too busy to I guess.” She approached one of the machines in the back and began flipping switches, bringing the mass of metal to life, adding its own gentle hum to the chorus of machines. The machine in question was reminiscent of an MRI machine, with a place for someone to lay down and a track to take them inside the horizontal metal tube, which had a menagerie of lights, wires, and tubes running to and from it. Alphys sat down at a computer terminal attached to the machine and entered in some commands, the machine's hum changing in pitch. Frisk leaned against one of the counters, quietly watching Alphys work.

            As she continued entering in commands, she spoke to Logan. “We'll start off with some basic scans, simple data gathering. This machine will take a full body image of all the magic interactions occurring in your body. Don't worry, there's nothing you'll have to do. All I'll need you to do is lay down there on the gurney and stay still.” She motioned to the small, padded gurney.

            “Is it okay if I lay on my front? These spines kinda won't let me lay flat on my back.” Logan asked, jerking his thumb towards his back.

            It took a moment for Alphys to answer, as she was lost in her interactions with the machine. “Hm? Oh, yes, that'll be fine. The gurney there should accommodate that.”

            Logan climbed up slowly onto the gurney, and lay down on his belly, his head towards the bowels of the contraption. His face fit into the hollow area of the headrest, which made laying on his belly as comfortable as he could hope. Once he got settled, he tried to keep himself still.

            Alphys called to him from her place on the side of the apparatus. “Okay, I'm beginning the process. Please keep as still as you possibly can.” A few keystrokes later, and the pitch intensified while the gurney, with Logan on it, rolled slowly into the tube, motors pulling Logan into the bowels of the machine. As he went farther into it, Logan could feel his fur stand on end from the unseen energy flowing through the metal tube. Logan wanted to look around in the machine, but with the way his face was locked into the gurney, he couldn't move his head. All he could see was the curving metal of the tube below him. Before long, Logan's entire body was inside, and he was starting to itch from what felt like static buildup on his fur.

            _Remember, don't move no matter how much it itches._

            _Thanks for the reminder._ Logan said, rolling his eyes.

            Outside of the machine, sitting at the terminal Alphys watched the data come in live, unable to wait for it to complete. What she saw there simply amazed her. She couldn't tell exactly what was going on, as there were things happening inside Cosmin's body that she'd never seen before, magical interactions that had never been observed before. One thing was clear: the amount of magic power Logan could wield right now was unheard of. No one that had ever been tested produced numbers so high, not even the prior king and queen. The possibilities of what one could do with the sort of magic potential Logan was exhibiting were thrilling. Once the computer confirmed that it had collected as much data as it could, she executed the command to bring Logan back out. Once out, Logan got up and stretched with almost feline grace.

            “Well, did you get anything good?” Logan asked, stretching his back.

            “Uh, yeah. Your scan results are very interesting. You don't happen to know any magic, do you?” Alphys responded, the tiniest bit of hope sneaking into her voice.

            “No, of course I don't know how to use magic. I was a human, and humans don't learn how to use magic. It seems we lost the art a long time ago.”

            Alphys thought for a moment. “Yes, I didn't think you would know how. Stranger things have happened though.” A pause. “That does mean, however, that I will have to teach you how to use magic, as that may be the key to our success.” Alphys clapped her hands together. “But, that is something for another day. There is still so much to learn from you, but at the very least I can tell separating the two of you isn't going to be so easy.” She grimaced, hating to give such bad news.

            “What? Why not?” Logan's eyes darted around.

            “Well...I need more information to be sure. I suspect, however, that a complex and powerful bond has formed between your souls. Powerful indeed if Logan has taken control of a body that is itself very tightly and powerfully bound to Cosmin's soul.” Alphys toyed with a screwdriver that was sitting on a shelf next to the console. “We would need to be very careful and deliberate to break that bond without breaking either of your souls, if it's anything like I think it is.”

            _Not like it matters if your soul is preserved. There's nowhere for it to go other than whatever afterlife awaits._ Cosmin responded.

            _It would be really nice if you would quit reminding me of that terrible little fact_. Logan snipped.

            “So what you're saying Alphys, is that a solution is not likely in the near future.” The corners of Frisk's mouth betrayed a frown.

            “I'm saying I need more information. What I have just said is conjecture on rough data, not much more than a hypothesis. And if we want to know how correct my hypothesis is, we need to continue my tests.”

            So they continued testing. Logan had never heard of any of the tests that Alphys performed, but after a few hours of being poked, prodded, and having stuff stuck to him, he was getting to be pretty short with Alphys. Frisk had stuck around, for the most part quietly observing, but seeing Alphys wrap up the recent round of needles and begin to remove them from Logan, Frisk spoke. “Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm getting pretty peckish. How about we break for lunch and resume this afterward?” Logan was quick to agree, having not eaten anything at all that day, which more or less forced Alphys to agree.

            _Thank goodness. It's been so boring to sit here and watch you do the most mundane sorts of things._

            _Like it was any fun for me either._ Logan quipped. _But it needs to be done, so enough complaining because you know that I feel the exact same way. Complaining to me won't help either of us._

            _Easy for you to say._ Cosmin grumbled.

            So the three of them went down to the cafeteria on the first floor of the building. The whimsical style of the lobby extended into the cafeteria, which coupled with the array of different monsters eating their lunch, meant that the place seemed to be teeming with life. It was noisy in there, but not so loud that talking was impossible. However, it was still early for lunch and Logan could only imagine how loud the place got when it was full of people.

            The three of them sat down with their trays. Logan felt out of place being there, eating lunch with two people he had only really met this morning. As Logan sat there eating one of his slices of pizza, he noticed that the food, while it tasted similar to human food, was different then what he was used to in human food. Instead of chewing to swallow, the food sort of dissolved in his mouth without much chewing at all.

            _This food's so bizarre. It tastes like human food, but feels very different from human food._

            _There's nothing that 'bizarre' about monster food. It's just food to us, like human food is just food to you. At least we're not having to attempt to eat human food. We'd have problems eating human food, because normally it's not easy for monsters to eat human food anyways. Doesn't sit right in our bellies._ Cosmin said. _Besides, shouldn't you be making conversation rather than sitting here contemplating the nature of food?_

            Logan took another bite. _I'm enjoying the little bit of peace, to be honest. Things have been crazy ever since I woke up this morning._

            Logan, however, would not be granted his peace for long. Frisk took it upon himself, in usual style, to strike up conversation from his companions.

            “So Logan, do you have any hobbies?” Frisk asked.

            Logan thought for a moment. “No. Not really. Being married with kids doesn't lend itself much to having a serious hobby.” Logan let out a dry laugh.

            Conversation wilted and died, leaving the group in silence again. They ate in relative silence for a few minutes before someone worked up the courage to speak again. This time, it was Alphys, whose seemed to be unable to contain herself any longer. “So what is it like? Being a human soul in a monster body?”

            Logan thought on that for a moment. “Honestly? It's hard to get used to. I still have to make a conscious effort to walk on these tiny feet. And the way everyone's looked at me so far is something that has been bothering me greatly. And having a voice with an attitude in my head all the time.” Logan adopted a half smile when he heard a hiss that didn't come from anyone nearby. “It's been hard to keep our thoughts private, and I think keeping emotions secret from each other is probably a lost cause. Even keeping the things we remember private is a challenge.” Logan shrugged. “Not much that can be done about that. We'll just have to deal with it until we find a solution.”

            Alphys nodded, giving Logan her complete attention. “Interesting. So controlling Cosmin's body doesn't feel any different than your body did?”

            Logan shook his head. “In the sense that it responds as if it were my own body, yes. The anatomy and size differences still very much throw me off. My senses are largely the same, if sharper, which is a nice consolation.”

            Alphys chewed on Logan's comments for the remainder of lunch, making notes in her phone as she spoke quietly to herself. After everyone had finished, Frisk let out a small burp before speaking. “Well, I suppose we should all get back to work. I'll leave you in Alphys' care, Logan. I have things I need to attend to this afternoon, and I'm sure Alphys needs further testing.” Frisk winked at Logan before walking off with his tray. Logan groaned inwardly before following behind him, with Alphys in tow.

 

* * *

 

            Frisk closed the door to his office and collapsed in his office chair, the weight of the decision he needed to make feeling like a gorilla enjoying a piggyback ride. Frisk wanted to know that the decision he was about to make was going to be a good one. After all, the consequences of his decision either way would be far-reaching, affecting every monster. Perhaps getting the opinion of someone whom had more years of experience than Frisk could ever hope to gain, and whom he trusted whole-heartedly would help guide him to the correct decision. Frisk picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the familiar number, expecting he'd be pretty quick to answer. True to his experience, the person on the other end picked up after only a few rings.

            “Howdy, Frisk! It's been a while since you last called, how are you doing today?” The deep voice on the other end asked.

            Frisk winced. It probably had been a few weeks since he'd last talked to Asgore. “Could be doing better. Things have been crazy here of late, but when have they not been crazy?” Frisk laughed, a small thing more to be polite than because he actually found it funny. “How are you faring today, Asgore?” Frisk asked.

            “Well, I'm doing just fine. I was able to get that front bed at the school building ready for the grafts of the Underground plants. It's taken a lot of work, and some out-of-the-box thinking, but it'll be nice to see a little bit of the Underground every morning.” A pause for a beat. “Frisk, is everything alright? It's unusual for you to be calling during work hours, and I know you're not likely at lunch anymore.”

            Frisk sighed. Asgore was astute as always. “Yeah, you're right. I'm not calling just to chat, though I really wish that were the case. Instead, I'm calling for advice. I've been confronted with a choice that could have grave consequences for everyone.” The other end was silent, waiting expectantly for further explanation.

            Frisk steeled himself, preparing to reveal the storm that was on the horizon to Asgore. “It's happened. A monster has, for the first time since the barrier was broken, absorbed a human soul.” Frisk didn't give him any time to process before he explained what little they knew about the two of them. “I see.” He said simply, still processing all that Frisk had told him. “So it has happened. We both talked at length about what you might do should this ever happen, but I had hoped we would never be here.” A moment of silence. “So then, what is your question about whoever this is? I know as much as you do at the moment.”

            “I need advice, really. My gut says that we shouldn't keep this a secret, but neither of them want to go public with this. They would prefer if we kept this all a secret, and as of now, we currently don't have a way to separate them, nor even an idea about how that might be accomplished, let alone what we might do with the human soul should we manage to separate the two. What do you think should be done?”

            There were many moments of deliberate silence. Frisk was about to speak up to make sure that the call hadn't dropped for some reason when the line came to life. “Yes. I can see why you would hesitate to go to the world. There will be many who will denounce what happened, try to use it as justification to further oppress us, or even wipe us out.” Another beat of silence. “However, we shouldn't make the same mistake twice. The last time we tried to keep something this big secret...you know what happened. It will only make it worse if we're not open about it.” Asgore seemed apologetic.

            In a way, Frisk didn't want to hear that from Asgore. What he wanted Asgore to say was that he should honor Logan's wish. Frisk didn't want to subject Logan or Cosmin to sudden infamy that was bound to come their way once everyone knew. But he knew it was the only reasonable course of action to ensure the best outcome for everyone involved. There was too much risk in attempting to keep this silent.

            So Frisk's shoulders slumped. “Yeah. You're right. We need humanity to trust us, and keeping secrets of this magnitude doesn't engender trust.”

            The two were silent, the implications weighing on them both. “Well, I need to get back to work. I've got a lot of things I need to get lined up to make this announcement happen. I'll talk to you later, and maybe we can have some lighter conversation then.”

            “Yes. I'm sure you do have a lot to do. Just one more thing before I let you go.” Asgore considered carefully how to say what he felt needed to be said, and proceeded slowly and deliberately. “I don't know what you have told them, but if I were you I would be careful about what you promise them, Frisk. Don't make promises that you won't be able to keep. I'll talk to you later.”

            “Bye.” Frisk said simply, before hearing the line disconnect. He reclined back in his chair, staring blankly into the space near the door. Frisk took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to pretend that everything would be okay. Feeling like he didn't have much of a choice, he sat up straight and logged into his computer, wanting to begin preparations as soon as possible.

 

* * *

 

            Logan followed Alphys back to the lab, taking care to not lose her. The building proved to be a labyrinth if you didn't know where you were going, and Logan had almost no clue about where they were. They arrived, Logan remembering to duck under the door frame as he entered.

            “Take a seat Logan. We've still got more work to do.” She pointed to the examination table before getting distracted searching through drawers and cabinets looking for equipment. Logan took a seat on the table and watched her work, assembling pieces of equipment together. How she knew the ways that the myriad of parts went together was beyond Logan.

            _She must be one smart cookie. I have trouble assembling basic furniture, and here she's assembling delicate and complicated equipment like it's nothing._ Logan mused.

            Cosmin emanated pride. _Yep. Alphys is well known among monsters. She was the one who was looking into ways to break through the barrier. Royal scientist, in fact. Before the position was removed by the kingdom disbanding._

            Logan figured while she was working with her hands on gathering things up, maybe he ought to see if she had any ideas about helping him.

            “Hey Alphys.” He waited for a response, but she was too distracted by the object in her hand, tinkering with it. Logan tried again, this time a little louder. “Hey Alphys.”

            Alphys looked up from the device, a twinge of irritation. “Yes?” She resumed what she was doing while waiting on an answer.

            “I know it's probably a little early to be asking this...but do you even have any thoughts on what we can do to give my soul some sort of vessel to exist in?” Logan asked hopefully.

            She didn't stop what she was doing this time to answer, but did hesitate in her response. “No. It's still too early to say what might be done for you, Logan. I don't even know how to separate the two of you yet, let alone be able to tell you whether or not we can cheat death.”

            Logan sighed. He expected an answer similar to that, but still clung to the hope that maybe it would be easy and fast to be freed from Cosmin's body. Though the way she phrased that last part made Logan more than a little nervous, yet another reminder of the enormity of their task.

            _While you're bugging her with questions, might as well ask her how long we might be stuck like this._ Cosmin said.

            “Hey, how long do you think we'll be like this?” Logan inquired.

            The distraction caused her grip to slip on the device she was playing with, nearly dropping it on the counter. She sighed, her voice even more irritable. “I don't know Logan. Rest assured I'll be doing everything in my power to separate the two of you as fast as I can manage. For both of our sakes.” She set the device down on the counter and leaned back on the counter.

            Alphys had a thought. She set the device down on the counter, the wheels spinning in her mind. “Logan, at lunch you said that the two of you could share memories, right?”

            “Yeah, I did say that. And I wish we hadn't shared any memories.” Logan's eyes darkened.

            “Well, I can't imagine experiencing someone else's memories is easy to grasp. But I do have an idea related to that. It's nothing more than an idea right now, but would be interesting to try.” Logan was disquieted by where this conversation was going, but he waited for her to finish. “I wonder if Cosmin were to let you see select memories of his past, perhaps you could learn magic in a lot less time through Cosmin's experience of learning magic. Being able to do magic could be helpful in either of our ultimate goals.” Alphys looked expectantly at Logan, hoping for a positive answer.

            _What, let you see precious, very private memories of my childhood in the vain hope that you might be able to skip having to actually learn magic yourself? You're dreaming if you think I'll just_ give _you that._ Cosmin said scornfully.

            “Cosmin's reluctant to give up any memories. He feels his childhood memories are too precious to share with anyone else.” Logan relayed.

            _Reluctant is a mild way of putting it..._ Cosmin growled.

            “Come on Cosmin. I'm not asking you to give up every memory of childhood. We can even start with just the first time you managed to successfully use magic, just to see if it even works.” Alphys entreated.

            _Nope. Nuh-uh. I'm not giving someone I only met today something so intimate as being taught magic for the first time by my father._

            Logan groaned, and that was enough answer to Alphys, whose shoulders slumped in defeat. Logan loved the idea of being able to do magic, so his mind raced on what he can do to convince Cosmin.

            Cosmin was irritated. _Logan, there's nothing you can give me that will convince me to give this a try._

            But Logan did have an idea. _Cosmin, what about a one-to-one trade. I give you a memory, and you give a memory. That way this deal isn't so one-sided, and we both are forced to open up to each other, which, trust me, isn't very comfortable to me either. I'll let you request any memory, if you let me request a memory. Within reason, of course._

            Cosmin's emotions churned as he considered the offer. Logan's hope for success swayed as Cosmin's decision swayed between yes and no. _Fine. Only because this has some chance of helping us out of this situation. So long as this isn't just you requesting first. I reserve the right to request as well._

            “Then it's agreed then. We'll trade memories.” Alphys turned from the counter, where she'd resumed her tinkering, surprised confusion on her face.

            “Does that mean you got Cosmin to agree to it?” She asked.

            “Yeah. So we can try right now, I guess.” Logan said.

            _Well that's all fine and good, but what do you actually expect me to do? It's not like I have a lot of experience sharing memories with a passenger in my body._ Cosmin said.

            Logan shrugged. _I dunno. Maybe just try thinking really hard about the first time you learned magic?_ Logan spit-balled.

            Mere moments after Logan completed his thought he was suddenly no longer in the lab. Instead, he was in a small, warmly decorated living room. The features of the room lacked a lot of definition, but based on the layout of the room Logan could only assume it was some sort of living space. He was looking up at a figure who seemed almost monstrous in his size compared to Cosmin's small frame. The figure was lion-like, his fur the consistent with his animal counterpart. However, Logan didn't feel afraid of the large monster. He felt Cosmin's complete sense of safety in its presence.

            The two of them were sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Cosmin's father was speaking to him. “Alright, Cosmin. Let's give it another try. Remember, it's not about forcing it to happen, it's about letting your energy flow from your body and carefully shaping it.” He waited, watching Cosmin with a warm, hopeful expression on his face.

            Logan felt Cosmin's body move on its own to hold his two hands in front of him, the palms parallel to each other. It was a feeling that Logan wasn't used to, and he instinctively fought the movement to no avail. Cosmin put his complete concentration on the task at hand, which Logan knew almost instinctively was creating a small flame. Logan felt the power flowing from Cosmin's body, trying to form the energy to create fire. He felt clumsy, sensing, but not directly seeing, the energy scattering away before it became light or heat. However, Logan felt Cosmin's determination to do it this time, having practiced many times before, and with a renewed effort he was able to create a feeble flame between his hands. Even though it only lasted but a few moments, Cosmin looked up to find his dad's eyes glowing with pride, reflecting Cosmin's own sense of accomplishment.

            Then, as abruptly as it started, Logan was brought back to the lab. Alphys was waving her hand in front of Logan, a look of concern on her face.

            “Logan. Hey, you alright?” Logan blinked and looked her in the eye, which prompted a sigh of relief.

            “Yeah, I'm fine. I was just...wow.” Logan was speechless. “I'm sorry. Experiencing Cosmin's memory was...amazing. It was like I was actually him, feeling everything he did.” Logan shook his head in awe.

            “Well, lets see if it did anything.” Alphys prodded.

            Logan nodded, and held his hands up with his palms parallel to each other just like Cosmin did in the memory. The magic flowed from him easily, more easily than it had for Cosmin as a child. It seemed perfectly natural to Logan, yet controlling magic was not something he'd ever practiced, which made the experience surreal to him. Soon, he had a flame between his hands, which quickly grew bigger and hotter than it had in Cosmin's memory, until Logan pulled his hands away with a yelp. The break in concentration caused the magic to dissipate, and the flame disappeared with a _whoosh_. Alphys was ecstatic seeing the large flame seem come so easily to Logan.

            “Amazing! I've seen students who took weeks to learn how to create a flame so large and hot, and you with no experience of your own managed to do it in a few minutes. The ramifications are not inconsequential.” Alphys got lost in her own thoughts for a few moments.

            _Great, congrats, whatever. You owe me a memory, and I intend to collect now._

            Logan took a breath. _Fine. What sort of memory are you wanting now?_ Logan said begrudgingly.

            Cosmin thought for a moment, and while he was thinking Alphys walked over to one of the various terminals in her lab and began typing on it, leaving Logan to his own devices for just a moment. Cosmin didn't need all that long, however. _In the interest of a fair trade, I want to see your father teaching you to do something, along the same line as what you just saw. I don't know what your father was like, but surely there was a time when he taught you something important._

            Logan thought about that request for a moment. Thinking of a time wasn't hard, but coming up with a time that he was willing to share with Cosmin was even more difficult. Eventually he settled on a point in time that wouldn't expose too much of his childhood to Cosmin, and focused on that moment in time, letting it replay through his mind.

 

* * *

 

            Cosmin waited for Logan to begin focusing on the memory he chose. He didn't know what it was like; to him it had just been thinking about what learning magic as a child was like. But when his senses suddenly weren't in the lab anymore, he knew that Logan must have come up with some choice moment in his childhood.

            Cosmin was in a dining room, but that was all he could tell. The walls of the room were fuzzy, out of focus, making identifying where he was at difficult. Cosmin saw human hands, as if he were looking in a first person point of view, holding an envelope, addressed to Logan Oliwier, that he picked up from the table. The hands were trembling, and he felt the stark nervousness that Logan was experiencing as he tore open the envelope, pulling the pages enclosed within out. His eyes scanned the pages hungrily, until he found the one piece of information that he was searching for. It was a number: 30, denoting some score he spontaneously knew. Logan cried out triumphantly, his wiry, pasty arms flailing around in joy.

            Logan ran from the room, everything getting blurrier as Logan's attention wasn't on anything in particular. Cosmin didn't understand why a score of 30 was something to celebrate. A blink and Logan was in a living room, where two older humans sat on a couch, watching TV. They both looked up at Logan's sudden and loud intrusion.

            Logan hollered at them, unable to contain his excitement. “I did it! I managed to pull a 30 on the test! I can't believe I actually did it!”

            This caused the excitement to spread to the two parents, who leapt up off the couch and embraced their son. The father spoke first, his beaming face reminding Cosmin of his own father's. “Good job, son! I knew you had it in you. All of those hours we spent studying paid off then, huh? You can go just about anywhere to college with a score like that and they'll be paying _you_ to come.”

            It was odd to Cosmin that he instinctively knew who these people were, even though he'd never seen him before in his life. Logan's mom spoke next, rubbing his back affectionately. “Good job, honey. We'll go wherever you want for dinner tonight to celebrate. You've more than earned it, with all of the hard work you and your father have put into this.”

            The scene froze with the two parents holding on to Logan, and then it faded away until Cosmin was back in the lab, still unable to make his body move. Alphys was currently putting sensors all over his body, and Logan was oddly quiet.

            _That wasn't your father teaching you anything, Logan. Though it was interesting to see your family get so excited over a test. What was the big deal with that, anyways?_

            _You would have been bored watching my dad teach me. Pretty much all of the teaching he ever did to me involved schoolwork. He never taught me how to do anything cool like build a doghouse or fix a car. So I figured I'd show you the point where all his teaching paid off, and spare you the tedium. To answer your question, it meant I got to go to pretty much whatever school I chose. Many would have let me go for really cheap, if not free._ A pause as Logan got sentimental over the moment. _That was one of the few times Dad ever praised me for my work. So you wanna know what he taught me? That success is attainable only through hard work._

            At this point, Logan's thoughts were interrupted by a question from Alphys, and he began trying to perform magic again equipped with all of the attached sensors. Cosmin watched Logan create a fireball, this time much more controlled, as he thought about the differences between their worlds.


	6. Chapter 6

            Logan unlocked the door, and wandered inside the apartment that had become his, even if it wasn't his. He stopped just inside the door and scanned the living room, including what he could see of the dining room. Logan noticed that it looked like cleaning wasn't Cosmin's top priority, but at least he didn't live in a pigsty.

            _Hey, I'd like to see your house before you start berating mine. I doubt your house was spotless._ If Cosmin could have smirked, he would have.

            Logan shrugged. _Yeah, my house wasn't perfect. There was always a mess somewhere the kids-_ Logan choked for a moment, then continued. _..somewhere the kids left behind._ He finished.

            Logan felt an alien twinge of regret, which was gone just as quickly as he'd felt it, instead replaced with impatience. _Well, since we're going to be stuck like this for a while you might as well get comfortable. Plus, when you're not comfortable, I'm not comfortable._

            _Okay then. In the interest of being comfortable I want something to eat. We haven't eaten since lunch, and I'm feeling pretty hungry._

            Logan started towards the kitchen, shutting the front door behind him, while he listened to Cosmin's reply. _Well, you're in luck. Did the shopping a couple days ago, so there's still plenty of ingredients to cook something._

            Logan wrinkled his nose at the thought of cooking. _Meh, I don't really want to cook at all. It's been a trying day and I just want something easy that doesn't require any cooking tonight._

            Cosmin's voice was prodding, more than a little antagonistic. _C'mon, it'll be much better than anything left in the fridge. Besides, even if you don't know how to cook I'm sure I can walk you through a simple recipe. I've got quite a few of them in the book there on the kitchen counter. I bet there's at least one of them you'd like._

            Logan huffed. _I can cook just fine, thank you. But I do not want to spend the time or the effort tonight. It's been more than a trying day, and I have nothing left to try and cook something in a kitchen that's not my own._

            Logan strode over to the fridge and opened it, looking for the stuff in the fridge Cosmin mentioned. Lo and behold, right on the middle shelf was a plastic container with what looked like some sort of stir-fry. Logan pulled it out of the fridge and popped the top of the container off. He looked at the colorful dish, sniffed at it, and decided it looked plenty edible.

            Cosmin, however had other ideas. _Hey, that's been in there for a little bit. It probably won't taste as good as it did when I cooked it a few days ago. We can cook something like it and it will be nice and fresh, just for you. I'll even do the dishes._ Cosmin laughed at his joke.

            Logan took the bowl and put it in the microwave, which was above the stove. He shut the door and started it cooking. He absentmindedly pulled out Cosmin's phone to read some news when he remembered that this wasn't his phone. Everything was different, and Logan would have to make changes to it that would better accommodate him. He was tempted to open Cosmin's social media accounts.

            _Don't touch those._ Cosmin warned. Logan opted to not get into another argument today, so he left well enough alone.

            The microwave dinged and Logan opened the door to the wafting smell of teriyaki. He thought it smelled good, but there was still a sick feeling in his stomach, as if the very thought of eating this was repulsive to him.

            _Ugh, I really don't want to eat that again. I didn't think it was that great the first time, and I only put it in the fridge because I didn't want to waste it._

            Logan didn't know what he was on about, because it smelled pretty good. He asked Cosmin where the silverware was, and was pointed to the drawer containing it. After procuring a fork, and pouring a glass of water for himself, he sat down at Cosmin's small dining table before tucking into the leftovers. Logan didn't know what Cosmin was on about, because even being a few days old it was pretty good, though Cosmin was certainly putting a damper on it. Out of spite, Logan continued eating it.

            _Hey, this isn't half bad. Why didn't you like it?_ Logan asked.

            _Well for starters I used too much soy sauce, and the veggies are underdone. Blech, tasting it again is just reminding me of more faults._ _I'll have to adjust the recipe if we make it again._

            Logan was enjoying it, but it was hard to really enjoy it with someone else constantly voicing their disapproval of the dish. As he was eating however, a shrill ringing sound emanated from Cosmin's phone. Logan didn't immediately react to it, but still did manage to realize that he would need to answer it. However, as he pulled it out of his pocket, the name on the other end made his blood run cold. The caller ID was labeled 'mom', and Logan froze, unsure of whether to answer or to simply let it go to voicemail.

            His choice was made for him as the phone stopped it obnoxious ringing. It made a small ding as it dutifully notified its owner that he had received a voicemail.

            Cosmin was irate. _Dude, that was my mom. Why didn't you pick up the phone? You literally had it in your hand!_

            _And do what? I can't exactly pick up the phone and just be like 'Oh, hello. This is Logan speaking, the soul possessing your son's body. How can I help you?'_

            Cosmin was silent as Logan resumed eating after the interruption. _Look, I know how both of us feel about our friends and family knowing what's going on, but it sounds like it's pretty much guaranteed that the general public will learn about what happened to us. Maybe we should tell our families about it before they find out from people other than us._

            Logan's stomach dropped, and he even stopped eating. _No. Absolutely not. There's no way I'm going to let them know about this until I absolutely have to. There's still a chance that Frisk will not go public._ In his heart Logan had trouble believing the words.

            _You can believe that all you want, but what about me? What if I wanted to tell_ my _family? Would you keep_ my _family from finding out until the last minute?_ Cosmin retorted.

            _I can't take the risk when it comes to protecting my family._ This simple, succinct statement only stoked Cosmin's ire.

            _I don't want to tell literally everyone I know, I just want to tell my parents. They would expect me to be open with them about something this significant in my life and will be hysterical if...when they find out._

            Both were silent for a few moments. _Logan, I don't know what's going through your head that you'd reject the ability to tell your family on your own terms, but please don't deny me the decency of being able to tell mine if I so choose._ Logan was struggling against the waves of unswerving belief radiating from Cosmin.

            Then Cosmin finally went silent and Logan sat there, staring into space. He then picked up the fork and continued eating.

            _Your parents would keep this all a secret then?_

            _Absolutely._ There was no hesitation in the response.

            Logan chewed on some noodles. _Fine. If you really want to tell them so much, then I won't stop you. But you know that I can't just give you control. How are we going to tell them then, if you can't speak?_

            _Simple. I tell you what to say and you repeat it, verbatim. It's not the best solution, but it should at least allow me to speak._

            Logan sighed. _You won't have to do much. All you gotta do is listen to me. You don't even have to pay attention to the conversation; I can hear it just fine. In fact, it might be better if you_ didn't _pay attention now that I think about it._ Cosmin chuckled, but he was uneasy about having even more of his private life exposed to a stranger.

            Logan continued eating in silence for several seconds. _Well?_ Cosmin prodded.

            Logan answered absentmindedly. _Hm?_

            _Aren't you going to call my parents back?_ Cosmin was mildly annoyed Logan didn't seem to grasp that he wanted to talk to his parents _now_.

            Logan seemed genuinely surprised. _You want me to tell them now? One, I'm still eating, and two wouldn't a conversation like that be more suited to talking in person? There would be no doubt about our truthfulness once they saw us in person._ Anger flashed at Logan, and he mentally recoiled from the feelings. _Not that they'd doubt you. You gotta admit it is a hard story to swallow, though._

            _Alright, you have a point. Even if you want to tell them in person we still need to call her back to tell her we'll be coming over and to keep her from worrying that something's gone wrong, which she'll certainly do if I don't call back._

            Logan sighed, and picked up the phone. He found the contact for Cosmin's mom quickly, but he hesitated with his thumb over the dial button.

            _Are you sure this'll work?_

            _Yes, Logan. It won't be that hard. Just repeat what I say and she probably won't know the difference._

            Taking a deep breath, he pushed the button and held the phone to the side of his head, so that he could both hear it and talk to it. It only took a few rings before the other end connected.

            “Hello, Cosmin. Glad to know that you got my phone call. It was a little out of the ordinary for you to not pick up the phone, given that you always seem to be so attached to it.” A demure, soprano voice teased.

            Logan got distracted by the voice and missed a part of Cosmin's response, which forced him to repeat it to Logan. Logan then repeated Cosmin's message, trying to keep the wording the same.

            “Yeah, I know how you feel about my phone usage, but I was in the middle of eating when you called.” Logan said, trying his hardest to imitate Cosmin's tone of voice before it dawned on him that he had Cosmin's voice already.

            There was a giggle on the other end of the line. “What was that, Cosmin? I thought you'd grown out of making pretend voices.” More teasing, and the two of them flushed with embarrassment. Cosmin tolerated it better than Logan did, and was able to come up with a retort where Logan's mind failed to do anything except repeat what Cosmin said.

            “Sorry about that...mom. Got a little carried away there.” Logan forced a chuckle. It didn't sound sincere, but she either didn't notice or ignored it. Logan had to stop himself from calling her 'Cosmin's mom', as he didn't know her name. Then, he knew it by the silent transmission of a thought.

            “Comin, is everything all right? You're acting sort of strange this evening.” Mariam wouldn't outright say it, but it was definitely setting off alarms that it seemed like Cosmin was reluctant to call her 'mom'.

             “Everything's alright mom, why wouldn't it be?” Logan was starting to get into stride, but there was still a not insignificant delay between hearing her speak and him answering.

            “Cosmin, how would you feel about having dinner tomorrow evening? It's been a while since you were last over, after all.”

            Logan was silent for several seconds before answering. “Of course, mom. I don't have anything planned for tomorrow evening, so I would love to have dinner with you and dad.”

            “Oh, good. I was worried the call dropped just then. In that case, I'll be happy to see you then. In the meantime, have you heard about your cousin, Comgan?” She asked.

            “No, mom. I haven't been looking at much stuff online today.”

            “Well, he's getting married! Do you remember that cute ginger he brought to Thanksgiving...” She made a ticking noise with her mouth. “...whose name I can't seem to remember right now.”

            “Yeah, I remember her. Good for him, she seemed nice enough.” Logan was really getting the hang of parroting what Cosmin said, the delay becoming bearable.

            “A very nice girl indeed. I bet once their married it won't be long until we see some kits from them. Clara will be very happy to have kits, though I still don't have any hope of my children having kits of their own...” She trailed off playfully. Cosmin was mortified at her, given that he had an audience right now he'd rather not be so personal with.

            “C'mon mom I...just leave me...you know I don't...” Cosmin's words were failing him.

            Mariam, however, was even more amused. “Wow, I don't think you've been so bashful in years about it.” Then, she seemed to make a connection. “Oooh. I see.”

            If Cosmin could have he would have slapped his forehead. “No mom, I'm not seeing anyone right now. You know how I feel about that at the moment.” Logan was feeling exasperated as the conversation continuing to drag on.

            Cosmin and Mariam continued to talk to each other for many more minutes. Parroting Cosmin had become almost second nature already to Logan, and his mind wandered. Naturally, it wandered back to his family, like it did most of the time. He thought on his mom, and how moms always know how to poke fun at their sons. Where their sensitive spots were. He couldn't help but think of a few times when he was embarrassed by his mom, and smiled at them now. He was happy that he still had his mom, as advanced in age as they were getting to be now. Medicine had improved, and they were still living perfectly normal lives.

            His thought was interrupted by Cosmin finishing up his conversation. Also like his mom, Mariam would have been able to go on for another hour if you let her. Cosmin was graceful enough that he ended the call after only 30 or so minutes, sparing Logan from having to parrot for the next hour. Logan hung up the phone and set it back down, noticing that the empty bowl was still sitting on the table. Logan picked up the bowl and dumped the remaining leftovers into the trash before rinsing the bowl out and putting it in the dishwasher. While he was putting the dishes away, Cosmin was talking to Logan.

            _Now that we've got a reason to be there in person with both of them, we're going to have to come up with how we want to word our explanation._

            _Is there any explanation but the truth? It's not like they won't be able to tell something extraordinary happened to you. Unless it's normal for monsters to change form?_ Logan was genuinely curious.

            Cosmin was scornful of the question. _No. Of course not. We may not be humans, but that doesn't mean that we can shapeshift to be anything we want to be._

            _Then the truth will suffice, yes? Unless you want to lie to your parents. And I can tell you I'm no good at lying._

            Cosmin grunted. _I know that we have to tell them the truth, I want them to know the truth. I was just wanting to think of a way we might...soften the blow._

            _I don't know how you could soften the blow of something like this. I would think just like a bandage, ripping it off quickly would be best._

            Cosmin was silent as Logan put away a few more dishes that were sitting in the sink, needing to be put in the dishwasher but Cosmin was too lazy at the time to put them away.

            _Thanks._ Cosmin said simply.

            _For what?_ Logan asked, truly surprised. He'd even stopped the dishes washing for a beat before continuing.

            _For honoring my request, even though you have no incentive to do so._

            _You're welcome._ Was the simple response.

            Logan had finished washing the dishes and began to think about winding down for the evening. Part of Logan's normal routine for getting settled in for the evening was a shower, which Cosmin immediately rejected.

            _No. Absolutely not. We're really not that bad off and I don't want anyone ogling my body._

            Logan sighed. _Look, as much as I hate it as well, we're going to have to give up any sense of modesty here. We could very well be stuck like this for months, and I'm not going to go months without a shower, or even changing our underwear. Might as well start now rather than being grimy and disgusting for months._

            Cosmin didn't protest further, instead adopting quiet resentment as Logan found a pair of shorts and underwear that they could change into after the shower, and he took them into the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

            Logan pulled on the clothes he picked out. He was amazed at how much water Cosmin's fur could hold, completely saturating the towel while still leaving his fur damp. The mirror in the bathroom was fogged up from the steamy shower, which was kept short by Cosmin's prodding for Logan to spend as little time in the shower as possible. He was about to leave the bathroom, but stopped short and looked at the mirror, only able to see a blurry reflection in it.

            _What are you waiting for? You've had your shower, now lets move on._ Cosmin said, grumpy.

            He contemplated cleaning the mirror off, but decided against it, remembering what he saw this morning. It wasn't going to be easy to cope with seeing that every morning.

            _Yeah, as if you're the one who has a harder time with it._ Cosmin growled.

            Logan ignored Cosmin's response, and instead considered what to do for the rest of the evening. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he walked over to the couch and sat down on the front edge of the couch and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and proceeded to flip through the channels on the TV. He didn't seem to find much that he was interested in watching, until the TV began playing a show that Logan was only vaguely familiar with, but Cosmin immediately recognized.

            _No way, is that_ Killer Crime _? I've been meaning to watch some more of it. It's such a good show._ Logan couldn't put his finger on why it was familiar until he saw the metallic human who could only be one person.

            _I knew I recognized this show. Mettaton's in it, which means I didn't enjoy watching it at all. Guy seems like he's trying to hard most of the time._

            Cosmin was mortified. _How could you say such things about Mettaton? He's such a good actor._

            Sighing, Logan threw the remote down and stretched out on the couch, sitting far enough forward to prevent his spines from tearing up the back of the couch. Getting comfortable wasn't a problem, but Logan keeping his focus on the TV was a problem. The first thing that happened was he began creating small flames with his hand, still in awe that he could do that on command. Cosmin was quick to use a sharp word to direct Logan's attention back to the TV, where his focus would remain for a few minutes before he looked somewhere other than the TV again, and where he was again reminded to watch the TV. This went in a cycle for the entire two episodes that they watched. Logan couldn't stand more than a couple episodes and turned it off, figuring they'd just go to bed early.

            Cosmin, however, was against going to sleep already. _Really? Going to bed now? What are you, a prune?_ Cosmin jabbed.

            _No, I'm tired. And unwilling to watch any more TV. We'll come up with something better in the future, because neither of us enjoyed that too much._

            _Hello tired._ Cosmin snickered, and Logan groaned at the joke.

            It didn't take long for Logan to finish getting ready for bed, before crawling under Cosmin's rumpled covers carefully. Logan's mind refused to quiet down, but it didn't matter because his body was so fatigued that he was asleep within ten minutes.

 

* * *

 

            Getting ready in the morning proved to be an easy task for the two of them. Cosmin didn't normally do any cooking in the morning, instead opting for an easy breakfast of cereal, which Logan was happy to oblige. As they didn't have any new clothes, they had to settle for what they wore yesterday, as it was the only thing that they could wear.

            They left for the MRRG headquarters and arrived fairly early in the morning. The two of them were surprised to find Frisk there with Alphys, waiting on them. There was a large, brown paper parcel sitting on the counter.

            “Good to see you two sleepyheads awake. Sleep well?” Frisk asked, chip and cheerful.'

            “Yeah, slept like a rock.” Logan said. He eyed the package. “What's in the box?” He asked.

            “Clothes. For you. Can't let you keep wearing the same old sweatpants every day. There's several sets of clothes in there, and I hope I was able to guess your measurements. Didn't think to get them yesterday before you ran off.” He laughed, and picked up the box, handing it to Logan. Logan took the box, and was about to ask for a knife to cut the twine on the outside of the box when Cosmin interrupted him.

            _You literally have knives on the end of your fingers, smart one._

            Logan was annoyed at Cosmin's comment, but still extended the claw on his index finger, which cut the thin twine easily. He tore open the wrapping, and pulling the lid off the box to find several sets of shirts and pants folded neatly.

            Cosmin breathes a sigh of relief. _Well at least we won't have to go clothes shopping today. I really didn't want to try and shop with you._

            Logan flushed with embarrassment, seeing the shirts. “Uh, Frisk? I don't mean to be rude, but how am I going to wear a shirt with the long spines sticking out of my back?” Logan asked sheepishly.

            Frisk smirked. “Your spines would be a problem, if those were normal human-made shirts. Take one out and you'll see what I'm talking about.”

            Logan took out the shirt on the top, a plain red t-shirt and was surprised to find that it wasn't connected all the way around. It was like the back of the shirt was split right down the middle from the collar to the bottom hem. Frisk grabbed the backside of the shirt to illustrate what he was talking about.

            “See? There's a strip missing from the back so that the shirt can be everywhere but your spines. There's buttons on the top and bottom of the shirt to secure it on your body. Apologies for the plain designs, I wasn't entirely sure what either of you like in clothes. Plus, I didn't have much time to get these ready, and simple designs were the only thing I could have done on such short notice.”

            Logan didn't care. He was more than happy to get out of the old sweatpants and finally be wearing a shirt. He picked out a pair of tan cargo pants and the red t-shirt that he had and excused himself to the bathroom to change. Logan came back to the lab beaming, elated to have clothes that fit again.

            Frisk was proud to see how well the clothes fit. The t-shirt wasn't too large, and the pants went down to Logan's ankles. “I did a good job, at least when it comes to size. We'll get you some more...stylish clothes later.”

            “Thank you very much Frisk. I feel like a decent human being now.” Looks were cast around the group, and Logan felt a twinge of embarassment.

            Frisk's face fell as he remembered he had to break the news to Logan about retaining his anonymity. “Logan, I have something to tell you.” Logan cocked his head, on edge because of Frisk's tone. “I've decided that we won't try to keep your existence a secret.” It was Logan's turn to have his expression fall, but unlike Frisk's there was the fire of anger burning in his eyes. “I know you want privacy, and believe me that I don't make this decision lightly. But it's like I said, I have more people to worry about than just you, and I put them in great danger by keeping your secret. I'm deeply sorry Logan, but the press conference where I announce what happened to you will take place tomorrow morning.”

            Logan's body was tense, and the claws on his hands and feet started to unsheathe. Frisk took a few steps back, gaze locked on Logan. Alphys backed up as well and hid behind a counter, afraid of what Logan might do. However, all Logan did was stand there, flexing his hands as if he were testing the weapons on the ends of his fingers. The trio stood in a silent standoff for several moments.

            Cosmin was sensing Logan's thoughts, and decided he didn't like them. _Logan? Hey, calm down man. Frisk is just doing what he thinks is best-_

            Logan interrupted Cosmin, his calm voice belaying a roiling sea of fury. “ _Frisk_ is refusing to respect the wishes of the one whose most impacted by this decision.” Frisk's gaze still didn't leave Logan, but Logan wouldn't hold Frisk's stare. “Hmph. Fine. Get out of here Frisk. If there's nothing I can do to change your mind then I don't want you here right now.”

            Frisk's expression was blank, but he nodded before turning to leave. He stopped in the doorway, wanting to leave one last remark. “I'm sorry. I truly am.” With that he left the lab, the door shutting gently behind him.

            Alphys finally moved from her hiding spot, and approached Logan with trepidation. She was fidgety, her hands rubbing together nervously. “L-Logan, why are you so adamant about having the world know what happened to you? Why do you c-care so much?”

            Logan was quiet for a moment. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. His claws had re-sheathed themselves as Logan had calmed down some. He stared blankly into space for several moments before he spoke, his voice soft. ”Because I don't want to have the world look at me as even more of a freak than I am right now. Now I'm just an odd-looking monster, but once Frisk makes his announcement I'll be considered an abomination. People won't just look at me with something akin to fear in their eyes; they'll look at me like the monster I feel like.” Logan's eyes glistened, but he didn't cry.

            Even Cosmin was silent. He'd seen the looks humans gave them; he wasn't stupid. Logan wasn't done speaking, however, continuing to speak quietly. “And I can't bear the thought of my family knowing what happened to me. To know that I didn't get the peace which seems so inescapable. To be instead condemned to live in not just someone else's body, but in the body of a literal monster.” Logan seemed to have finished his vent, and had settled into being quietly disheartened.

            Alphys was sweating now. “I...I know this won't be easy for you. Look at it this way though; even if we can't find a way to get you back with your family, you at least get a chance to say goodbye. That's more than what most people get.”

            Logan quieted his thoughts, conscious of the person always listening. It was a small comfort couched in language which only reminded Logan of the sorry state that he was in. Her statement seemed to indicate that she didn't seem to believe that Logan would be able to live with his wife and kids again. What she didn't know was that Logan would never give up. Too much was at stake for him. He'd already done the hard part and cheated death, surely the second part would be easier.

            “Yeah. I guess that's something.” The two of them were silent then, Alphys unsure of speaking and Logan still dealing with his emotions. Alphys cleared her throat and Logan looked at Alphys with lidded eyes. “We should really get started for the day. The sooner we get this stuff done, the sooner we can find a solution for the two of you.”


	7. Chapter 7

            The car pulled over to the curb in front of the tall, brick apartment complex. It sat still, prompting its passenger to exit the vehicle so that it could pick up its next fare. Logan climbed out of the car, and no sooner had he shut the door than the car whirred away. He felt Cosmin squirming inside of him, terribly anxious about what was to come.

            Still, Cosmin steeled himself. _Lets get going. I don't want to prolong this any longer._

            Logan snorted. _Because you'll talk yourself out of it if we don't go quickly, won't you?_ He laughed dryly.

            _Just go already!_ Cosmin practically yelled.

            Logan sighed and looked up at the tall, red brick building. It was at least eight stories tall, Logan figured, and the outside looked a little dingy, but not dilapidated. Stepping through the door into the lobby area, Logan found the interior was like the exterior. Not sparkling clean, but clean enough. The elevator arrived quickly, and with Cosmin's prompting Logan pushed the button for the fifth floor. No one else was in the elevator, and Logan could faintly hear terrible muzak playing from a terrible speaker. 

            _This is gonna be fun, getting to tell your parents about what happened._ Logan said dryly.

            Cosmin's voice was twinged with irritation. _Look, I get you don't want to be here, and I really appreciate that you're willing to endure for me. But please, lets stop moping about how awkward it's going to be and get this over with._

            _Moping? I'm not the one who wants to run as far away from here as possible._

            Cosmin was about to speak, but was interrupted by the elevator coming to a shuddering halt. _Which one is your parent's?_ Logan asked, looking down the long hallway of uniform doors.

            _Third door on the right. 505 should be their number. Just be nice to my parents, alright? I'm already going to be in a deep hole, so don't make it worse alright?_

            It was a short walk to number 505, and Logan strode quickly to the door. _I can be quite cordial if need be._ Logan said.

            Logan rapped on the door, gently at first. He could faintly hear the TV through the door, and he figured no one heard the soft knocking.

           

            He hesitated before knocking again, this time harder than before. A muffled voice, deep and gravely hollered from the other side.

            “Come on in, it's unlocked!”

            Logan tried the door handle and found that it was, indeed, unlocked. He opened the door slowly, and found it opened to a living room. The living room was painted in a pastel tone, and family pictures adorned the walls. Logan padded forward, his feet making soft sounds on the hardwood floor.

            Someone was sitting in an overstuffed chair with their back to the door, watching the TV. The TV was running the evening news, and as Logan approached he could see a mane of golden fur showing over the top of the chair. He either didn't hear Logan approach or wasn't bothered to address the intruder.

            “Hello?” Logan said softly.

            The figure in the chair turned around, speaking as he did so. “Hello, Cosmin. It's so-” He froze for a moment as he caught a glimpse of his son. He bolted out of the chair and moved quickly towards Logan, his agile movements causing Logan to raise his arms in a defensive posture and take a step back. He stopped a few feet from Logan, surprised at the motion and began looking him from head to foot in abject horror. Logan could finally get a better look at him now. He immediately recognized him as Cosmin's father Theodotos, his golden fur much better defined now. He stood on digitigrade legs, like Cosmin did, and was several inches shorter than Logan was now. His lion-like muzzle gave away his age through the gray hairs interspersed throughout. His brown eyes were wide, trying to capture every detail over the glasses perched on the end of his nose. His clothes were well-made, a short-sleeve button-up short tucked into tan slacks.

            Finally, he got over his shock enough to speak. “Cosmin...what happened to you?”

            Logan started to speak when his ears twitched, picking up the light pattering of bare feet to his left, and from a doorway on the other side of the room. He glanced toward the source of the sound and was met with the same horror seen on the dad's face, this time who was a creature that looked more similar to Cosmin than Theodotos did. Logan could only suspect that this was Cosmin's mom Mariam, which Cosmin quickly confirmed. However, she was even shorter than the dad, which put her just under Logan's shoulder height. Her creamy white fur had streaks of gray throughout, most prominently in her muzzle like the father. Her black-tiped ears were erect in shock. Her wide green eyes stood out prominently against her white fur, and these searched over Logan frantically. She was not wearing clothes quite so formal as her husband, instead sporting well-kept jeans and polo shirt.

            _Here goes nothing._ Logan thought.

            Logan shifted around to be able to address the two of them. “We can explain.” Logan began, which caused the two parents to look at each other in confusion. “My name is Logan Oliwier, and I'm the human soul that Cosmin absorbed.”

            Now they were both absolutely floored. “What? Cosmin if this is some sort of elaborate joke it's not funny at all.” The mom said with fire in her eyes.

            “I wish it was a joke Mrs. Teodore. Your son absorbed my soul shortly after I died and now I have control of his body.” Logan was avoiding eye contact with either of them, feeling ashamed for what was happening to their son.

            “If you're in control, then what's happened to Cosmin?” Mariam said, completely terrified. She approached Logan and reached up to caress his face, but he instinctively flinched away. She stepped back, the betrayal evident in her eyes. Theodotos stepped towards his wife and put an arm around her protectively. She accepted the gesture willingly.

            _Come on, all you had to do was stay still. Now you've gone and hurt my mom's feelings._

            “Sorry, I'm not used to people that I don't know expecting me to be like I've known them for years.” Logan said sheepishly. “Here.” He said, as he got down on one knee. She pulled herself from Theodotos and walked to Logan, and she caressed his cheek, Logan fighting the urge to flinch again. She stood there, staring into Logan's eyes and he could have sworn she was seeing deep into his soul. “Cosmin's fine. Or as fine as he can be. He's still here, and he can hear you.” Logan said, consoling the couple.

            “But he can't speak to us.” Theodotos concluded.

            “That's right.” Logan broke eye contact with Mariam, looking down at the ground. As if some spell was broken, she let go of Logan and stepped back to her husband. Logan rose from his position on one knee. “If I knew how to give him control back, I gladly would.”

            The small group was still for several moments. Then Mariam spoke, her voice just above a whisper. “Cosmin, why did you do it?” Logan's fur stood on end from a sudden wave of fear that wasn't his own.

            _What do you want me to tell them?_ Logan asked.

            Cosmin answered after thinking for several moments. The two parents became agitated as Logan's response became more and more delayed. _As humans say, 'curiosity killed the cat'. I couldn't resist when the opportunity arose to find out if the legends were true. That was the first time I'd even seen a human soul in its freed state, as humanity around here cremates dead bodies, freeing the soul to move on rapidly. It was just too convenient..._ Cosmin's voice rang with melancholy.

            No longer able to wait, Mariam spoke up. “Well? Why would you do that Cosmin?” Her high voice was strained, holding back emotion.

            Logan finally looked her in the eye, searching her expression. “He had an opportunity that he couldn't pass up. He was by my side as I died, and it was the first time he'd ever seen a soul and wanted to know if the legends were true.”

            Her expression shifted to rage. “Really? Cosmin, how could you? Did you not think for even a moment about what your actions would do to us, to _everyone_?” Theodotos started to try and calm her down, but she stopped him before he could continue. “Back before the barrier was broken, you would have been praised as a hero. Here you'll be proclaimed as a villain, a reason to imprison monsters yet again.” Now her anger was spent, and her eyes glistened. “And now I've lost my only son to his lust for power.” No longer able to hold it in, she turned into Theodotos' arms and sobbed. He consoled her gently, whispering words of comfort. Logan stood there awkwardly, helpless to do anything and subjected to Cosmin's own despair.

            They stayed like that for a couple minutes before they had regained some modicum of their composure. Mariam dismissed herself to finish up dinner, which left just Logan and Theodotos, who was leaning against the couch and staring into space. Logan didn't want to speak anymore. He hated the way he felt responsible for the damage that had been done to this family.

            “She'll come around.” Theodotos rumbled. “You know how she is.” He caught himself, and amended his statement. “Err, Cosmin knows how she is.” He looked apologetically at Logan.

            “So, what's it like being taller than me, Cosmin? You were always wishing you were taller than me as a young man.” Theodotos said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his worry.

            _Figures dad would try to make light  of the situation. Just tell him its not all its cracked up to be._

            “He says that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.” Logan repeated.

            Another reminder that he wasn't talking to his son directly made his broad shoulders sag. They resumed their strained silence. This didn't last long as Mariam came back and asked for help getting the food to the table, and the three of them left to eat dinner.

 

* * *

 

            They sat at the table in tense silence. The three of them pretended to eat, Logan wishing that Cosmin's mood wasn't affecting his appetite so much as the food was fantastic. He was afraid to speak, as he felt this wasn't his place to speak and Cosmin had not said much since breaking the news. The other two did not speak up for a while either, until Mariam broke the silence.

            “So when are you going to let Logan's soul go?” She asked icily.

            Logan didn't need a prompting to answer this one. “Um, he...can't. Our souls seem to be stuck together in a way that is, apparently, difficult to separate. At least that's what Alphys said.” Logan winced, waiting for more verbal blows.

            But none came. Instead, Theodotos appeared to be incredulous. “You don't mean _the_ Alphys, do you? The last Royal Scientist?”

            That title reminded Logan of what he had been told. “Yeah. I think so? She's been trying to help us ever since we were...united.” Logan didn't like the word choice, but he couldn't come up with a better one at the moment.

            Theodotos seemed thrilled, but Mariam was less so. “She's done a lot of good for monsters, and she was the one studying human souls before the barrier broke. If anyone would know how to help you, she would. I always did want to work with her when she was Royal Scientist, but she was the loner type. Never wanted any assistance from anyone.”

            “That's because she was trying to hide her twisted experiments the entire time.” Mariam said coldly. “If it were me, I'd be asking for someone else to help me. You are going to MRRG, I'd assume, if she's the one helping you. They have plenty of other, very competent, people to help you.”

            Theodotos was silent, knowing better than to try and defend Alphys. Logan simply hedged his bets. “Eh, we'll see. Frisk seems to have a lot of confidence in her abilities.”

            Her icy glare thawed. “I trust Frisk far more than I trust Alphys. As long as he keeps an eye on her, I will rest easy knowing that someone responsible is watching out for you.”

            There was a lull in the conversation. A thought occurred to Logan in the silence. _Cosmin, I just realized something. I haven't really let you speak at all, and I feel kinda bad about that. These are your parents, after all. I'll let you say anything you might want to say to your parents, and I'll repeat it to the best of my ability. Deal?_

            _Well...I guess we can do that._ Cosmin said.

            So Logan waited for Cosmin's prompt. Cosmin couldn't seem to decide on what to say now, differing thoughts swirling around in his head. “What I say from here on is strictly Cosmin's words, not my, that is Logan's, words. Okay?” The two of them looked up from their plates, where were pushing their servings of lasagna around, trying to appear as if they were eating.

            Logan cleared his throat. “Mom, dad, I just want to say I'm sorry. I never wanted to make things difficult for you. And I'm afraid it isn't going to get any easier. Frisk plans on announcing to the world that I took a human soul tomorrow. Everyone will know what I did after tomorrow.” Logan hated the reminder, Cosmin's parents were disquieted by the statement.

            “No, surely Frisk wouldn't do that. There would be too much risk of people getting hurt by going public.” Theodotos said, scratching his facial hair.

            “Frisk thinks that there's greater risk by not announcing. He's afraid of this being like the six children. Afraid of undermining the little bit of trust that was so difficult to achieve.”

            Mariam retorted, her icy anger returning. “But what about you, Cosmin? Has he not considered what would happen to you? You'll be torn apart, at least despised by the world over. There won't be a single human who will like you, and even once this is all over they will never forget you as the thief monster who took what didn't belong to him.” Her indignation warmed Cosmin's heart, that his mother still cared about what happened to him even with what he did.

            “Yeah, I know mom. I hate it too. But there's nothing I can do to stop him. He already knows, and everyone will believe him because it's another reason to hate monsters. He's also the only source of help that I would trust. You yourself said you put great trust in him, so why the change? Maybe he knows something we don't.”

            Theodotos smiled. “Perhaps he does. It must be something truly terrible if he's not willing to even attempt to keep it secret.” Theodotos crossed his arms on the top of the table.

            By now their food had grown cold, and still no one was overly hungry. Everyone lapsed into silence yet again. Cosmin, hating the silence more than anyone else attempted small talk. “So Comgan's getting married, huh?” He said.

            “Yes...we'll see how their marriage goes.” Theodotos said with disdain.

            Mariam waved him off. “Come on dear, I think she's quite nice. I know the only reason you're doubtful is you think he's marrying beneath himself. Need I remind you that you did the same when you married me.”

            He chuckled, and responded playfully. “Now that's different, and you know it. Need I remind _you_ , I married you because I loved you, and you loved me back. What I'm afraid of is that he loves her, but she only loves his status.”

            Cosmin asked Logan to roll his eyes, which Logan obliged. “Dad, not everyone is simply about getting money or prestige. Sometimes people do actually find love.” A hint of a smile played at Logan's lips.

            A twinkle eminated from Mariam's eye. “Oh? Then why haven't you found any love yet? Maybe you haven't been looking hard enough.” A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

            Now Logan felt really awkward. He did his best to hide it, but under Mariam's watchful gaze nothing could be hidden, and she interpreted Logan's expression as Cosmin's. “Unless...you have found love?” She asked hopefully. Theodotos simply seemed amused.

            Cosmin was annoyed by the incessant probing into his love life. “No, mom. I haven't. I will be sure to tell you as soon as I do, since you seem to want to be so involved in it.”

            Their playful banter, which helped relieve the tension that refused to go away, continued for a while longer. Keeping track of what Cosmin was saying became second nature, and as he got to where he didn't have to actually pay attention to the conversation, his mind wandered. Logan had always thought that monster families were somehow different than human families. They weren't really all that different, though. The revelation, however, only made Logan ache for the family that he had left behind in death.

            Logan nearly said his thoughts around and was forced to abandon his absentminded musings, which he was grateful for. They sat and talked for easily an hour, and by the end of this Logan was getting fed up with parroting.

            _Hey Cosmin, I know you're having fun, but can we go? It's been a long day, and I'm tired._

            _Aw, come on Logan. We haven't been talking for all that long. Besides, I'm really enjoying talking with my parents again._

            Logan huffed, which drew quizzical looks from the parents. _I would say an hour is quite a long time to talk._ He sighed inwardly. _Look, it's not easy or fun to talk to your parents. Can we just go and talk to them some more later?_

            _Just give me another 15 minutes or so and I'll be able to wrap the conversation enough to leave. Plus, it's not like we have anything better to be doing right now._

            Logan resigned himself to his fate, and continued playing Cosmin's puppet for another 15 minutes. About twenty minutes later, and he was sure to keep track of the time, Logan couldn't take it anymore and quit playing Cosmin's puppet.

            “Right, well it's getting late and it's been a long day. If you don't mind I'll be heading out.” Logan said.

            Both parents were a little surprised at the sudden change of heart. “Uh, of course. It has likely been a trying day for you.” Theodotos hesitated, then amended his statement. “...for both of you.” Logan got up and strode for the exit, Cosmin's parents a little bewildered.

            _Aw, come on. I was just about to finish before you so rudely stopped talking._

            _Yeah, well you're five minutes past your deadline. Time to go._

            _Where are you going? Aren't you going to let me say bye at least?_

            Logan groaned in frustration before turning around and addressing Cosmin's parents.

            “Bye mom, bye dad. I'll see you guys later.” Cosmin prompted Logan to give them a hug and Logan did his best to not make it awkward as he embraced both of the parents.

            “Bye Cosmin. I love you, and keep us posted on what you find out.” Mariam said as she embraced Logan.

            “Bye Cosmin. I hope they're able to find a solution for both of you.” Theodotos said as he also embraced Logan.

            Logan turned to leave but stopped short. “One last thing. Until Frisk has made the announcement tomorrow I need you guys to keep this to yourselves. After that you can tell everyone you want to. Deal?”

            The two nodded their assent, and they followed Logan until he was out of the doorway. They watched him walk to the elevator, and only went back inside once the elevator doors shut.

 

* * *

 

            Logan waited on the sidewalk for the car. His phone promised that it would be there in a few minutes, which was all Logan could stand to wait. Logan felt the cool night air, making him thankful for Cosmin's fur.

            _Thanks._ Cosmin said simply.

            _For what?_ Logan replied.

            _For doing that in there. You didn't have to do any of that, but you did. I appreciate that._

            Logan smiled. _You're welcome._

            The two of them were silent the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

            The next morning, Logan stood nervously backstage as monsters scurried about to get everything ready for the big announcement today. There hadn't been a lot of time to prepare, and many things were being done last minute. Logan and Alphys both stood near the back, away from the bustle in front of them. It wasn't long now until Frisk was to go on stage. Frisk was walking with a monster who was wearing a headset and was discussing hurriedly with it. He broke away and made a beeline for Logan and Alphys.

            Today Logan's suit was much more business-like, a charcoal grey affair with a deep blue tie.

            “You look well-dressed today.” Logan said, nearly yelling over the din.

            “No, I look like a prune. But everyone expects me to look a certain way; so I do.” He shrugged.

            “I think you look good in that too. Some of your clothing choices are too adventurous.” Alphys teased, getting a laugh from Frisk.

            “Y'know, it's not too late to call all of this off.” Logan said playfully, but with a serious edge.

            Frisk looked at Logan. “Now, you know I'm not going to cancel now after all the hard work my crew's put in.” Logan sighed, not surprised in the slightest.

            A monster hollered to Frisk near the front of the stage, waving at him to get his attention.

            “Well, that's my cue. I'll talk to you guys after. Enjoy the backstage seats.” He winked at them before striding away.

            Logan's smile faded once Frisk was gone. Now the dread returned full force, knowing that this was going to happpen regardless of whether he wanted it to or not.

            Alphys looked at Logan. “It'll all be okay Logan. Frisk knows what's he's doing.” It wasn't much reassurance for Logan or Cosmin. Hearing someone speaking on stage, the two of them moved so that they were off stage left, where no one in front of the stage could see them but where they could see the stage and anyone on it. Frisk was on the opposite side, and he strode to the podium, radiating confidence.

            “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press. Thank you all for coming on such short notice, and just a note, I won't be taking any questions afterwards.”

            He paused for a moment. “Very recently, something has happened that everyone had hoped would never happen. Something that we have worked hard to prevent, and to great success given that this is the first time it has happened since monsterkind was set free.” A pause. “It came to my attention a few days ago that a monster named Cosmin attempted to save a human from a car crash, the type of crash that most people don't walk away from. The driver he attempted to save was a human named Logan Oliwier. Unfortunately Logan succumbed to his wounds before help could arrive, and despite his best efforts Cosmin was unable to save him either.” Another pause. “Cosmin, grief stricken, made a decision that, while I don't condone it, was still made and he is now living with the consequences.” One more pause, artfully adding drama. “The decision he made was to absorb Logan's soul.”

            It was as if the air was sucked out of the room. Logan couldn't even see what was going on in there, but everything was painfully still, even backstage. Frisk continued, “As of now, we don't have any leads to separate the two, to send Logan on his way into the unknown. So far we have been unsuccessful in separating the two of them. Nevertheless, we will not give up trying, and the Monster Rights and Research Group will be doing everything in its power to free Logan and allow Cosmin to return to his normal life. Thank you.” Frisk started to walk off the stage, and the crowd he was speaking to exploded into questions.

            Frisk stopped once he was backstage with Logan and Alphys. Logan spoke, his voice grave and serious. “Frisk, I hope you're right about this, because there's no going back now.”

            Frisk looked forlornly at Logan. “Yeah. Me too.”

 

* * *

 

            Logan and Alphys were in the middle of a test which necessitated a few hours of uninterrupted time. The two of them had gone back to the lab immediately after the conclusion of the announcement, and began working in earnest, having a greater motivation than ever to solve his predicament.

            Logan was trying to sustain a steady stream of wispy, barely tangible magic into a grounded magic sink. It took some concentration, likely more than it would have for Cosmin. Logan had shared a few more of Cosmin's experiences using magic, but he was still very much a novice. Alphys was quiet, concentrating on the numbers, keeping silent to help Logan stay focused. They still had a long way to go before Logan could stop.

            Then, the phone rang. Its jarring electronic ring temporarily disrupting Logan's flow of magic. He caught himself and quickly resumed his steady magic casting, but was now watching

Alphys. Alphys stomped over to the receiver while barking orders at Logan to not stop what he was doing.

            She picked up the reliever and started barking at the person on the other end as well.

            “What, Frisk? If you want me to help Logan I need to not be constantly interrupted-” The color drained from her face. “You're kidding. He doesn't-” Logan's ears perked up, and he was listening even more intently. “Right. I'll put him on.”

            She picked up the cordless receiver and brought it to him, as he would have a difficult time getting out of all the wires and sensors attached to him. “It's for you.” She said simply, before scurrying back to her terminal, not wanting to be involved in the mess she expected was about to happen.

            Logan didn't understand her reaction until he put the phone to his ear.

            “Hello?” Logan said.

            “Logan, it's Frisk. There's, uh, someone who really wants to see you.” Frisk seemed agitated, and that really put Logan on edge.

            “Who?” Though he already knew the answer, his pulse quickening.

            “It's your wife, Elizabeth. She's demanding to talk to you. Looks like she brought a couple kids as well. They're yours, I assume?”

            Logan dropped the phone, his body suddenly paralyzed. His mind went blank, struggling to cope with his worst fear coming to life.

            Logan moved his body, finding that his limbs were shaking almost uncontrollably. He clutched his forehead and tried to control his breathing. Slowly, the terror abated until it was a dull unease sitting in the pit of his stomach.

            Logan looked at himself. He was still tangled up in wires from the monitoring equipment, and he found that being restrained by them was suddenly unbearable. He began to take them off, his shaky hands making the task difficult. He felt sensors come off of their own accord, until it  dawned on Logan that Alphys was right there, helping him out of the sensors. He turned his head and looked at her, finding deep worry in her gaze.

            “Alphys...I...I'm sorry about the phone. I was just...wasn't expecting this to happen so soon. I'm fine now.” His voice wavered.

            She spoke softly, deliberately. “I know you're not fine. You always said you dreaded this moment, trust me when I say this. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will all be fine in the end. I think you underestimate your family's love for you, Logan.” Her words were a soothing balm to Logan's soul. He then realized that he was on the phone with Frisk before he'd gone into shock. He picked up the phone from the floor and put it to his ear, only hearing a dial tone, and he asked Alphys for Frisk's extension before punching it in and putting the cracked phone to his ear.

            “Frisk, you still there?” Logan said when he heard the other end connect.

            “Logan? What just happened? Are you okay? I heard a crash and then nothing from you.” If Frisk was concerned before, he was downright worried now.

            “Yeah, I'm fine. I just...needed a minute. I should have known this day would come. I had hoped it wouldn't be so soon though.” He sighed.

            “Okay, so you will see them then? Because, to be frank, I don't think I can stop your wife short of calling security to throw her out.”

            “Yeah. Yeah, I can't turn them away now.” Logan said, reassuring himself.

            “Okay. Good, cause I didn't want to have to deal with throwing them out. I've got a conference room near my office, room 519c. Head that way and call me from there once you arrive. Then I'll send in your wife and kids.”

            “Sounds good, just one thing.”

            “What's that?”

            “I want to speak to my wife alone first. Without the kids. It would be too much to bear to see their faces right now.” Logan was struggling with tears just thinking about that.

            Frisk was silent for several beats. “I'll see what I can do. I can't force your wife to do anything, though.” His words rang true. Maybe she might see his logic, maybe she might not.

            But it would have to do. “Deal. I know you can't force her to do anything. Nor would I want you to.”

            “Alrighty. I'll talk to you in a few minutes.”

            “Bye.” The line disconnected, and Logan turned the phone off. He then noticed that when he dropped the phone he'd cracked the white plastic casing.

            “Again, sorry about your phone.” Logan said sheepishly as he handed it back to her. She dropped it into one of the large pockets on her lab coat.

            “Don't worry about it. I suspect you're going to leave to see your family.” Logan nodded and got up, shuffling slowly as if to the gallows. “Good luck.” She said as he closed the door to the lab behind him.

As he got closer to the conference room, his panic began to build again.

            _Logan, it'll be fine. It won't be easy at first, but I'm sure that they'll accept you just as readily as my parents did. They'll be just happy to have their husband and father back._

            _Yeah...yeah you're probably right._ Logan doubted it even as he said it.

            _I mean that. Yeah, it sucked at first. But you saw how they at least began to cope pretty quickly. I'm sure they'll see that it's really you immediately._

            They arrived at the prescribed conference room, and Logan opened the door slowly, checking if anyone was in there before he barged in. The room was empty, so Logan stepped in and shut the door gently behind him. It wasn't a large room, and the center table was only big enough to seat 8 or so comfortably. One wall had a whiteboard on it, marker remnants still evident on the board. Logan walked over to the far side, where a phone hung on the wall. He picked up the receiver and dialed Frisk's extension.

            “Hello?'

            “Frisk it's Logan. I'm here now, and ready as I'll ever be.”

            “Alright, we're heading your way. I'll let you speak to them in private, but I'll be just outside.”

            “See you in a bit.” Logan hung up the phone, and tried to decide what he should do in the few minutes he had. He was too wound up to sit, so he started pacing around the room.

            _Y'know, that's not going to help your nerves to do that._ Cosmin quipped.

            _Shut up._ Logan retorted.

            Logan heard someone messing with the door and he whirled around, suddenly gripped with the desire to run from the room. There was nowhere for him to go, even if he wanted to. There was only one door into the room, and that would mean going right past the person coming in. With no chance to flee, Logan froze, his body tense with anticipation.

            Through the door a woman walked through. Her olive skin looked almost green under the harsh florescent lighting, her brown eyes standing out on her pale face. Those eyes were filled with worry, dread. They had bluish bags under them, the sort of bags that a few sleepless nights graces one's face with. Then as she made eye contact with Logan, horror poured forth. Her hand shot up to cover a mouth agape.

            None of these expressions lasted long. But Logan had known her long enough that he could see them before they were locked away, hidden under a steel mask. She took a steadying breath, then another. Logan wanted to say so many things to her that he ended up saying nothing, for deciding on one sentence, one phrase, proved to be too difficult of a task. He wore the hope that he held openly on his face, not realizing he was making it so plain.

            Mercifully, she took the liberty to speak. Her voice was steady and calm, but hinted at anger. “So you're Cosmin? The one who's holding my husband hostage?”

            Logan stammered, trying to explain the situation. “Well, y'see Cosmin _did_ absorb my soul...but I'm the one currently in control of his body.”

            “What.” She said flatly, her eyes starting to smolder.

            “Elle, it's me, Logan. I may not be in my own body, but I can tell you for sure that it's still me-”

            The slap hit Logan completely unaware. Her palm went right along the side of his muzzle, hitting him hard enough that he had to catch himself on the table, or else he would have been knocked to the floor.

            _Holy smokes, since when could she hit that hard?!_ Logan picked himself up, feeling a deep sense of betrayal to have his wife hit him like that.

            _She must be feeling really hateful for her to push us around that much. Human attacks are only as powerful as their desire to hurt us is._

            Logan felt the side of his jaw with a hand, half expecting to find a few teeth missing. His eyes pleaded with Elle, begging for her to just listen to him. Her mask, after seeing the damage she had managed to do with a simple slap, slipped. It was faint, and there only for a few heartbeats, but still unmistakable.

            “Please, Elle. I'm not trying to play a trick on you. Honest to goodness I'm not.” His voice quivered and quaked, struggling to stay steady enough for coherent conversation.

            With a flash, her steel mask quickly ignited into flames, something that Logan had only seen a few times, and was fearful for him to behold.

            “'Not trying to trick me?' How else would you describe lying about being my husband just because you have his soul?” She shouted, wanting to hit him again but this time holding back.

            “Elle, if you don't believe me, you can ask me anything. Anything that only I would know, and I-I'll answer it.” He was inches away from getting on his knees to beg.

            She considered his offer, her gaze coldly evaluating Logan's. Passing some internal test for truthfulness, she thought of things only Logan would ever know. It took her several tense moments before she responded.

            “What name did Logan and I almost choose for our eldest daughter?” She finally asked, expecting to stump Logan easily.

            “Holly.” Logan said without even so much as a moment's hesitation.

            Elle was taken aback by the sudden and truthful answer, her eyebrows shooting upwards before immediately furrowing themselves again. She crossed her arms, almost defensively and grunted, giving vague recognition to his correct answer. “Hmph. Fine, what chore do I hate doing the most?”

            “Dusting. I would always dust when we cleaned the house for company because you would hate doing it so much.” Logan dared to allow a tiny glimmer of hope to crystallize in his soul.

            “On our honeymoon in Alabama, name all of the things we did.” Now, fear danced its way behind her eyes, just noticeable behind the flames of anger.

            Logan was quiet, his eyes downcast, staring at his feet in sadness. “We didn't go to Alabama on our honeymoon. We didn't have a honeymoon at all, because the day we were supposed to head out your mom was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy the same day.”

            Elle's teeth were clenched tightly, as if trying to break something hard with her teeth. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and when they opened again the fire had gone out of her eyes. Now she was closer to grief than anger. “It can't be. People can't come back from the dead, even in someone else's body. You must...be able to read Logan's memories, know everything he used to know.” She was losing her composure fast, body no longer rigid steel but instead quickly becoming like a mass of stretched rubber bands, ready to snap at any moment.

            “Look, I know this isn't easy to believe. But Frisk will tell you exactly what I've just told you. That I, Logan, am in complete control of Cosmin's body.”

            Her expression had darted back and forth between Logan and the exit, but now she was paying rapt attention to Logan, almost gleeful in her response. “Now I know you're not my husband. My husband would have never told me to trust anyone from the MRRG. I'm leaving, _impostor_ , and I don't want to hear from you until you give back what you took from me.”

            She turned and strode out of the room, not even flinching at Logan's protests before tearing open the door and slamming it behind her. Logan didn't make chase, discovering that his legs were weak. He only just managed to pull a chair out from the table before collapsing into it, breaking down into a sobbing mess, putting his head down on the desk and wailing into the solid wood. Cosmin had nothing worth saying, and tried to leave Logan alone as much as he could.

            A minute later Logan heard the door open, and someone speaking to him. He didn't even raise his head to see who it was.

            “Logan, what happen-” Frisk said, stopping mid-sentence seeing the grievously wounded man before him, overcome with his great sadness. Frisk didn't say anything else, he just walked over to Logan, his footfalls muffled by the carpet, and took a seat next to him. He put his arm around Logan's hunched shoulders, and gave many small words of comfort, knowing that there was nothing else he could do to help heal what had been broken today.

           

* * *

 

            Logan cried for a good, long while. Tears of pain, tears of betrayal, pent-up tears held back. Like all things, the crying came to an end. Logan sat up, wiping his eyes, trying to bring himself back under control again. He steadied his breathing, and soon he was able to repress what remained of his sorrow.

            Logan had hardly noticed Frisk was there, but now he regarded the man with respect, for his willingness to be there and comfort Logan. Worry creased Frisk's brow, and he waited patiently for Logan to speak.

            “I...it didn't go so well. I guess you figured that much out, huh?” Logan said somberly, his voice still coated in his sorrow.

            “Yes. You're correct. Is there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?” Frisk asked, staring intently at Logan.

            Logan was silent. He wasn't willing, or ready to talk about it to anyone...yet. Frisk frowned, and patted Logan's back.

            “You can have the rest of the day off. I'll tell Alphys you needed the afternoon off, I'm sure she'll understand.” Frisk said.

            “No.”

            Frisk raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? No one would bat an eye knowing who you met today.”

            “I'm sure.” Logan's voice was hard, absolute in its delivery. “The best thing for me right now is to get out of this godforsaken body, and not spending time with Alphys will only delay that.” Frisk nodded, and the two of them, through silent agreement, left the conference room leaving the bland room which would now be burned into Logan's memory.

 

* * *

 

            Logan spent the rest of the day in uninterrupted experimentation. He didn't mind at all; it was a welcome distraction from the thoughts which threatened to bring him back to tears again. The remainder of the day seemed to speed on past, and before he knew it Alphys was ready to clock out and go home. They stayed later that day than they were yesterday, and it was early evening before Logan would let Alphys quit for the day.

            Logan made his way to the elevator, and he got in and pushed the button for the ground floor. He leaned against the railing along the sides of the interior of the elevator, terribly fatigued by the events of the day. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to reveal a lobby area which was mostly devoid of people except for a small cluster of people, many of them carrying camera and microphone equipment. Logan looked nervously at the group, as they were between him and the front doors where a car was promised to be waiting for him. He put his head down and started walking swiftly towards the front doors, hoping he could get outside before anyone in the group noticed him.

            _Logan, you're going to have to move faster than that._ Cosmin's advice came too late however, as one of the people in the group called out, pointing to Logan. Almost as if in practiced unison, they all got up from their camping spots on various chairs and benches and sprinted to Logan. Before Logan had processed what was going on, there were microphones in his face and barrages of questions flooding his way. He couldn't help but be bewildered at it all.

            Cosmin's voice was rushed, trying to get his message across as quickly as possible. _Keep moving, dummy, and don't say anything. We'll talk to them when we're good and ready, okay?_

            Logan nodded, not meaning to do anything other than affirm Cosmin. He pushed gently, but firmly, through the crowd. They parted, but not easily or willingly. Soon, however, Logan was alone in a car heading towards a place that offered peace and quiet, something Logan was desperately craving.

            The car ride back to Cosmin's apartment was tense, and when Logan arrived there were more people camping out in front of the entrance to the apartment building, and Logan, completely stoic, pushed through them inside where they didn't follow. He took the elevator up to the fourth floor, and strode quickly to Cosmin's door, bolting it shut behind him. He went to each window in the apartment and made sure either blinds were shut or curtains pulled. This didn't take long, as the apartment didn't have many windows. Logan, in the darkness of a room without any lighting from the outside and no lights on in the interior, went over to the couch and collapsed, suddenly too weary to do anything more.

            Logan's thoughts, unlike his body, were swirling and charged, a veritable thunderstorm of feelings and concepts. Cosmin, feeling sympathetic to Logan in ways no one else had ever experienced, wanted to calm the storm that was occupying the same space as he was.

            _Logan, are you okay?_ Cosmin asked, not knowing anything else to say.

            _Yes._ Logan returned, very gruffly, the thought quick and sharp.

            _I..._ Cosmin began, then stopped, trying to figure out what could be said. He tried again. _I...I..._ Logan's thunderstorm intensified, and Cosmin shrunk away in whatever capacity he could. The voice Logan perceived was quiet, almost imperceptible over the droning noise his mind was making.

            _I'm sorry._ He finally said.

            The swirling intensified, but the jolts of lighting reduced in their frequency. _Why would you be sorry? It's not you who put me here; that's Frisk's fault...and partly mine._ Though he didn't know where he'd gone wrong, and the lighting-hot rage resumed.

            _But it_ is _my fault. If I hadn't made that stupid decision, we wouldn't be here talking. Instead you would have been dead, truly gone and my life would have continued on, peacefully. Blissfully ignorant of what would have happened._

            The storm calmed to a steady downpour of sadness. _I...Cosmin, I...I can't figure out what went wrong in there. I thought I said everything right; I answered the questions correctly, I didn't do anything hostile or aggressive towards her, I even..._ A lonely sob escaped from the confines of Logan's soul. He took a deep, relaxing breath and continued. _...I even took her hitting me. She_ hit _me. Never in my life has she done that to me. Or anyone, that I know of._ The sobs were building against his self-control, slowly adding on their pressure as more and more of them bombarded his resolve. His eyes began to leak, and his breath started to act in defiance of Logan's will.

            Suddenly, it was Cosmin shooting out bolts of hot anger, these directed towards Logan and his self-pity. _You idiot. Have you not considered what this means to her? It means that she isn't married anymore to a human; now she's practically married to a monster. One of the more ugly ones at that._ Logan let out a strangled laugh, like he had choked on it during its delivery. _So she's got a lot on her plate. It would be easier if that was the only thing she had to deal with; now she has to somehow explain it all to her daughters. To her, it's much easier to believe that you're an impostor, than to believe the alternative. Just give her some time, Logan. I'm sure she'll come around and recognize the man she loves._

            The storm had receded. It wasn't gone; a storm like that doesn't just instantaneously go away. But it was weakened; what was once sheets of torrential rain had settled in to a light, steady rain. It wasn't perfect; but it was progress. Logan wordlessly got up from the couch and went into Cosmin's bedroom, to grab a change of clothes for a shower.

            _Yes, just take a nice, warm shower and climb into a nice, warm bed. We can deal with these problems tomorrow._

            Now Logan really knew he was just saying it to make him feel better. Still, he appreciated the gesture. _Thanks._ Logan said simply, before heading into the bathroom.


	9. Chapter 9

            A week later, Frisk was in his office, working with a pace that he had previously only known before the organization he currently worked lacked their large pool of resources, forcing him to do more than his fair share. Not that he didn't work now, but he could at least keep a decent work schedule. Currently, however, he was having to pull extra hours to keep up with the things happening in the world since he was so kind as to inform humanity of Logan. People were demanding to speak with the two of them more and more, and Frisk wondered if he could protect the two of them.

            Still, as Frisk sat at his computer, reading yet another news report, a soft knocking resonated from the solid wood door. Frisk sighed, figured he could use the mental break, and opted to allow the intruder into his domain. “Come in.” He yelled, his voice seeming to be barely held up by the air rushing out of his lungs.

            He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes as he heard the door open and shut, and the soft pitter-patter of bare feet didn't do much to clue him in on who it was, though he had a hunch. When he looked up, he found the scaly face of Alphys staring back at him.

            “Yes, what is it, Alphys?” Frisk said, unable to keep irritation from tinging his voice.

            “You asked me to bring you preliminary findings as soon as I had them. I was going to write a formal report, but I thought you might want me to spare you the details. If you'd prefer, I can get a copy to you-”

            Frisk waved her off. “I don't really care. I don't have the time to read all the nitty-gritty details right now. Please tell me you've got something for me to give to the press.”

            Alphys' expression brightened, like a switch had been flipped behind her eyes. “Yes, I do have something, actually. I have a very promising lead on separating the two of them. I'm still gathering data for a complete model to see if it could even work, but it certainly does look promising.”

            Frisk was pleased by the news. It would go a long way in easing tensions to be able to say they have a lead. “Well, what about the other thing? A place for Logan's soul to go?”

            Like a candle that had been blown out, the light was instantly gone, replaced with a heavy darkness which almost visibly pushed down on her already hunched shoulders. “Well...I don't have any leads for that, unfortunately. I've ruled out some options, but not all hope is lost...yet.”

            Frisk's thoughts turned heavy as well. His head seemed to sink slightly, almost imperceptibly, pushing his shoulders down slightly in turn. “No solution yet...” Then, a thought struck him like a rock hitting him square in the forehead. “Could we...separate Logan and store his soul in a canister, like what was used underground?”

            She looked away from Frisk, knowing what he wanted would be not in anyone's best interest. “It would be possible, yes. Doing it...would be very hard on Logan. While a human soul can be put into a canister and stored indefinitely, it's basically like putting a person into a complete sensory deprivation tank. Without a body to experience stimuli, the world becomes a dark void of nothingness. Few could stand being there, alone, for long without developing...problems.” She finished, shuffling her feet.

            “A fate worse than death...” Frisk said. The duo fell into silence. Then, Frisk spoke, changing the subject. “Is Logan still mad at me? Haven't been able to be around there much, but when I tried to talk to him on his way out several nights ago he practically gave me the cold shoulder.”

            Alphys raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn't say 'mad'. He certainly still holds resentment towards you. He just needs time, I'm sure he'll come back around. He's been pretty cooperative with me at least, so he must be at least somewhat amicable.” Alphys shrugged. “I don't know people as well as you tend to Frisk. You always were gifted that way.”

            Frisk smiled, memories of making friends in the span of a day danced through his head. “Yeah. I guess I am. Maybe I need to corner Logan and work this out.”

            “Maybe.” Alphys replied.

            Frisk was lost in thought for a few moments, until Alphys cleared her throat to remind Frisk she hadn't been formally dismissed. “Oh, sorry. Thanks for the report. Keep me posted.” He said curtly, and she nodded before leaving Frisk's office.

 

* * *

 

            Logan watched Alphys leave the lab, telling Logan to wait while she talks to Frisk for a little bit. Logan didn't think anything of it, and as soon as she was gone he pulled out Cosmin's phone and began thumbing through news feeds. Even now, a week later, Logan was a very popular topic. It seemed everything else in the world had become less important, and as more details trickled out, humanity shifted from white hot anger, to intrigued curiosity. It was bizarre to think that a human soul could continue to live on in another's body, taking over complete control. Some were considering the possibilities of being able to live even longer, have a second life. Others argued that it would be inhuman to do so, and certainly not optimal given the original occupant was still in the body.

            Humanity's ire had not gone away though. Cosmin's social media accounts were rendered practically useless to the hate of anonymous people. Cosmin had finally given up and let Logan have access, but ultimately to no useful purpose. They became filled spam, ranging from words of encouragement to death threats. There was far too much for Logan to sort through, and seeing anything from Cosmin's friends and family required sorting through the noise.

            Logan became bored pretty quickly with the news. It didn't take long for Logan to hate having the world's focus on him. Now he couldn't go hardly anywhere without being recognized. Going to very human populated places, he was treated both with great contempt and great admiration, but generally only at either extreme. Monsters treated Logan almost apologetically every time, as if what happened to Logan was somehow their fault, a mistake they needed to rectify. Logan and Cosmin were comfortable with neither one, missing their anonymity of being a nobody.

            Logan was about to put the phone away when a news story caught his eye. It read 'Trinidad Researcher Pleads to Help Logan Oliwier”. Logan opened the article and read a little bit. It seemed a professor at Trinidad, a local college, was wanting to perform research along the same lines as what Alphys was trying, to free him from Cosmin's body and give his soul a second chance. Logan hadn't heard anything about this prior to today, and couldn't help but be a little miffed that Frisk hadn't told him about someone else wanting to extend their help.

            _He probably had good reason to not tell you. Maybe he's not as trustworthy as he appears._ Cosmin offered, his voice hinting at distaste.

            Logan didn't respond, because he was too busy considering contacting this professor. He searched for the name and found the professor's name was Dr. Buell, head of the Magic Sciences program at Trinidad. He made a mental note to contact him that evening, to see what Buell might be able to do.

            _You should probably consult Frisk about it, if you want to talk to him. Frisk would want to know, at the very least._ Cosmin said, clinging to his reservations.

            _Why? Can I not do anything without Frisk's permission? Besides, it's best to keep our options open, isn't it? Just in case Alphys fails._ Logan stopped the protest Cosmin was preparing to put forth. _Not that I think she'll fail; just in case she does._

            _We could still tell Frisk about it._

            About that time Alphys came back to the lab, seeming no different than she had prior to leaving. She sat down at a terminal and began working on something, apparently not needing information from Logan. Logan had figured out pretty quickly she had a bad habit of getting into her work and failing to pay attention to the others in her lab. Logan put forth a polite cough to remind her that he was still there, sitting and waiting on instructions.

            She looked up, slightly irritated but mainly embarrassed that she'd forgotten all about Logan. “Oh, sorry about that. Uh, I, um, don't...don't actually need anything from you at the moment...” She rifled through the unorganized pile of printouts scattered around this particular terminal, looking more and more dismayed as she couldn't find anything for Logan to do. “Uh...just wait for a bit and I'm sure I'll come up with something I need you to do.” She went back to the terminal, resuming her complete focus on the display in front of her, while also comparing it to printouts, which often took an unreasonably long time to find.

            So Logan sat and stared at the ceiling, the walls, the cabinets, and really everything else in that room trying to find something interesting to look at. It only took a few minutes for him to be so bored that he couldn't possibly stand the stark blandness any longer. So he decided to make conversation with Alphys. It wasn't like he'd spent much time talking with Alphys about her personal life; their conversations had been limited to strictly research-related topics. Until now, neither party had been particularly interested in conversation.

            “So Alphys, what's your story? How'd you end up working here?” Logan asked.

            It took her a moment to comprehend what Logan had asked her, as if her hearing was on a significant delay. “Oh? Well I wasn't always working here, if that's what you're asking. It was surprisingly easy to get work on the surface, and I actually got on at Trinidad, teaching a few classes and doing research. I did that for a couple years, until I realized that they were only wanting me for the knowledge I had already. They needed someone to catch them up, and that was okay in the spirit of being friendly towards humanity. Until, that is, Dr. Buell stole my research. It was good knowledge too; good enough to propel him to head of the newly created Magical Sciences department.” In the reflection on the monitor, Logan could see that she frowned, her teeth mashed together. “Needless to say, I put in my resignation pretty quickly once I realized there was no way for me to claim that research as my own.”

            “Ah.” Logan said, trying to keep the doubt which was trying to take root at bay. “I see.”

            “Yep.” She said curtly. “It was around that time that MRRG started becoming what it is today, and Frisk was quick to hire me on once he knew I was in need of a new job. Ever since I've worked here.” She shrugged. “It's been nice working here, at a place I can really do some good.” She paused for a moment, squinting at the display before continuing. “Y'know, before all of this went down, I was looking for ways to increase the healing capabilities of monster food.” Her voice took on an edge like a dull knife. “It was going to benefit everyone, if I could manage it. But, right now you're the only project I can really work on.” Like that, the edge was gone and was replaced with simple resignation. “Oh, well. I'll be able to get back to it eventually.”

            Logan shrugged, and having reached the extent of his ability to small talk, besides commenting on the weather, he stretched out on an examination table, and once he was comfortable, stared at the ceiling.

 

* * *

 

            Logan closed the door to Cosmin's apartment and breathed a sigh of relief. Those people were persistent, wanting to speak with the two of them, but so far they limited themselves to camping in front of Cosmin's building. He bolted the door, and then set about learning more about Dr. Buell. He liked Alphys, and her words had put him on caution, but it wasn't enough for him to not even give Buell a chance.

            After sitting down at Cosmin's computer and spending about an hour of research, Logan was fairly convinced about Buell's expertise. Cosmin, however, was not quite as convinced.

            _Logan, we don't know how much of that stuff was actually Alphys' work; you heard her in the lab._ Cosmin protested.

            Logan had long since grown weary of this argument; ever since Alphys had mentioned it, Cosmin was sure to point it out every time Logan's thoughts so much as strayed to Buell. Which, it turns out, was pretty often.

            _Yes, but of everyone who's been putting forth benevolent offers to help, Buell is clearly the best qualified. His research has been pretty steady, only seeming to slow down around the last couple years or so. I get the feeling that Alphys has been with MRRG much longer than two years, so he must be have done at least some of the work himself._

            _Actually, why do we even need help? Alphys is more than capable of helping us, and if she can't help us I highly doubt some plagiarizing jerk will be able to help us._ Cosmin said, casting scorn down on Logan.

            _And what does it hurt to see? We don't have to try any of his methods, should he discover any. Worst case he can't help us and that's the end of it. Best case, he comes up with a solution that helps both of us._

            _What does it hurt? Spending time with him means we spend less time with Alphys, our best chance of getting out of this situation intact._

            Logan snorted, now seeing his turn to chide Cosmin. He leaned back in the rickety office chair in front of the slightly messy desk. _Cosmin, you know as well as I do Alphys doesn't need us near as much anymore; she's got most of what she needs from us already. Only on occasion she needs us for stuff. The rest of the time she's too busy burying her face in terminals to the point she forgets we're even there. It wouldn't be a stretch to just, say, be with Alphys in the morning and Buell in the afternoon. That would still give Alphys more time than Buell, generally. Or at the very least even amounts of time._ Logan twirled a pen from the desk through his fingers.

            Cosmin grumbled, still refusing to relent. _I still don't think we should do it without Frisk's approval._

            Logan rolled his eyes. _Frisk isn't our dad. We're both grown adults, we can make choices for ourselves. Your choice was to go to Frisk, mine is to go to Buell. It's only fair I get at least_ some _say in what we do._

            _So what you're really saying is you're going to override me and do it anyways, is that it? Use your absolute power to force me to go along with it?_ Cosmin growled, despising his inability to do much of anything.

            _Look, I know you don't see it now. But I really think that we're increasing our odds at a happy ending for both of us._

            _You mean a happy ending for you._

            As Cosmin spoke, Logan pulled out Cosmin's cellphone and put in the number listed on the college page. He would have been surprised to find anyone there at this hour; it was early evening and most professors would have gone home for the day. Logan figured he could at least leave a message and get a call back from Buell the next day. That he could be fairly certain of.

            Logan hit dial, and proceeded to filter out the grumblings that Cosmin made in faint protest. While it rang several times, Logan got up from the computer and began pacing around the living room. Logan almost wondered if it would ever go to voicemail before someone on the other end picked up.

            A harsh, male tenor voice with a flat accent began speaking immediately, sharp and biting. “This better be important. It is past my office hours and I'm busy with stuff that needs to be completed by tomorrow.” The voice waited for a response, silently commanding this unwelcome intrusion to hurry up and get this over with.

            “Uh, sorry sir. I was just calling because Dr. Buell wanted to speak with me. I'm Logan Oliwier, sir.”

            There was nothing from the other end for a few beats, as if processing this bit of truth took longer than it normally would have. Maybe it was disbelief. Either way, when the voice on the other end spoke again, any hint of animosity evaporating.

            “Logan, I'm delighted you called. You're speaking to Dr. Buell, by the way. I was beginning to lose hope that I would be able to reach you. What can I do for you, Logan? Do you mind me calling you that?”

            “Uh, yeah that's fine.” Logan said absentmindedly. “You seemed to think that you might be able to do something to help the two of us? At least, that was what you were saying to the news.”

            “Yes, I did say something along those lines. I don't know what specifically I might be able to do to help you, but if you give me some of your time I am certainly willing to try.”

            Logan paused for a minute, Cosmin's whispering doubts feeding Logan's sense of paranoia. “Uh, ok. Just out of curiosity, why _do_ you want to help me?”

            A pause at the other end. “Well, I suppose it's only fair you ask why I'd be willing to spend time helping you. To be frank, I'm interested in the data we can collect from you. It could allow humanity's understanding of the soul to take a massive leap forward. We have yet to be able to capture and hold a soul because we lack the technology to do so, and because of...ethical concerns. You in this form have neither of these problems, and being in a magical body rather than the extremely physical nature of a human body means that study on it is actually possible.” Buell's voice had continued to build in excitement as he explained the research possibilities to Logan.

            Buell continued. “So that's why I'm willing to spend time with you, if simple benevolence wasn't a strong enough reason in your mind. However, I really do want to help you Logan, not just because of the research opportunity, but because it would be negligent of me to not try. So what do you say?”

            Logan was silent while he chewed on what Buell had told him. _He seems pretty sincere to me, Cosmin._ Logan thought.

            Cosmin was silent. Unable to or unwilling, Logan didn't know. Logan took his silence as an implicit 'yes'.

            “I say yes. I'm willing to let you try and help me.”

            “Splendid! Lets start as soon as possible. I'm mostly free in the afternoons, as most of my classes are in the morning. Does that work for you?”

            Logan thought about that. He probably could work something out with Alphys that would free him in the afternoons. “Yeah, I can make afternoons work. I'll be in touch with you if I can't make that work.”

            Excitement leeched into Buell's voice. “Excellent! I am looking forward to meeting you, Logan. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye.”

            “Bye.” Logan hung up the phone.

            Logan's posture visibly relaxed, and he walked over to the kitchen where he cooked both of them something to eat under Cosmin's careful guidance. They had gotten to be a decent team after the first few attempts not turning out so well. Cosmin proved more than capable of instructing Logan, and true to Logan's word he wasn't completely inept in the kitchen, but was indeed quite out of practice. Though Cosmin was quieter than usual guiding Logan.

            After they'd eaten, Logan walked over and had a seat on the couch, stretching out while being mindful of his spines. There were several rips in the back of the couch where, throughout the week, Logan had forgotten that he needed to be careful sitting down and had damaged the couch. Over the past week, they had discovered that the best form of entertainment they had found was audio-based. Whether it was podcasts, audio books, music, or even radio dramas, it was the form best suited to Logan inevitably getting distracted, and it meant Logan could play around with the magic that still enamored him even a week later.

            They were halfway through a chapter in the latest audio book that they decided on when Cosmin's phone rang again. Logan reached over to the coffee table where the phone was vibrating noisily on the wood, and paused the audio book before looking at who was calling. Logan figured it would have been Buell, or maybe even Frisk making another attempt at being friendly when Logan's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat. He recognized the number as his wife's cell number, and he sat upright on the couch, his body tense as he answered the phone.

            “Hello? Elle, is that you?” Logan said, his tension seeming to radiate through the air.

            “Yes. It's Elizabeth.” She said softly.

            “Elle, it's so good to hear from you again. I called several times and left messages, and you didn't call back so I was getting worried that maybe you'd changed numbers on me or something.” Logan didn't want to say what he was really worried about.

            “I know you did. I...I got them all. I...just needed time to think.” A pause, her voice heavy with emotion. “Whoever you are, I ask only that you answer my next question truthfully. And if I ever find out that you lied to me...” More silence.

            “Well, what's the question?” Logan asked, wanting desperately to say anything to convince her of the truth.

            “Am I really talking to my...dead...husband...Logan.” She said softly, sniffling slightly at the end.

            “Yes.” Logan said softly, and without any hesitation. “Yes you are, Elle.”

            The silence hung between them like a thick, velvet curtain. Logan sat on the couch, holding his breath and waiting for the verbal blows that he expected to come.

            But no blow came.

            Instead, a sob. Then another. Then many more until Logan wished that he could reach through the phone and pull his wife close, to reassure her that all would be well. That he would be here for her, no matter what. Her sobbing turned into wailing, and Logan's heart could barely stand hearing his wife like this. He too, couldn't help but empathize with his wife, and soon he was bawling as well into his large hand.

            The two of them cried for a time, Cosmin quietly observing. He, too, was helpless to offer much, if any, comfort. They both calmed down slowly, going first from the wailing, out of control crying of grief, to the steady crying of sadness, finally subsiding into the sniffling sobs of someone who's expended all of the crying they could stand.

            Still blubbering, Elle tried to speak. “I...I'm sorry Logan. I'm so sorry. When you gave me those answers I knew there was only one person it could be...” She blew her nose in the background, apparently doing Logan a favor and moving the phone away. Logan was wiping his tears away with his free hand as well. “...but I couldn't bear the thought of you not being...you.” She took a deep, wavering breath. “It was so hard for me to see you, Logan, in...his...body. All I saw was the monster who took my husband's soul when he had no right to.”

            A long pause, and Logan could feel the guilt spilling over from Cosmin. He wasn't speaking, but he didn't need to, because Logan understood with absolute clarity what Cosmin was feeling. Elle continued, “It wasn't right, nor even justifiable for me to ignore you. I just wanted to stay away from that monster. That was fine...until I realized that by doing that, I was punishing you. In the entire week that you were trying to reach out and talk to me, it didn't dawn on me until today what this had to look like to you.”

            Logan was still absolutely silent, listening to his wife's confession. “I guess I should, in a way, be thanking Cosmin. After all, if he hadn't done that, we wouldn't be talking now, would we?”

            She sniffled again. “Jeez, how are we supposed to deal with this, Logan?” She asked.

            Logan closed his eyes and sighed, not knowing the answer to her question. “I dunno Elle. All I can do is work to have more time here on this earth with you guys. Right now, I don't...I don't have any options, but I've got both humans and monsters trying to help me. They're doing everything they can to bring me back to you, in a form that is mine, and mine alone.” Logan squeezed his eyes shut to keep himself from crying again. “Man, I want nothing more than to come home and be with you guys again right now. You all have been on my mind ever since I woke up. But...this isn't my body, and I have no right to do that to Cosmin.”

            They were both silent, the gravity of what Logan had proposed manifesting in a grave silence. Logan broke the silence, shattering it like a pane of glass between them. “How have the kids been handling what's going on?” Logan was almost afraid to ask, as he couldn't imagine how they might be holding up.

            “They...they're taking it hard. Katie's been...asking all week when you'll...come...home...” A few strangled sobs escaped from the receiver, before she continued. “...and Tracy's refusing to believe you're now in someone else's body.”

            The thick curtain of silence descended again. Logan spoke through it, but felt like his voice was muffled, only barely audible to the person on the other side. “Elle...do you think they, uh, would be...” Logan clenched his teeth and tried again. “...do you think it's too soon for me to see them?”

            Nothing but static for several beats of Logan's heart. “Logan, I don't know if they ever will be ready. They certainly aren't now.” She said carefully. “With that said...it...would be wrong of me to deny you the privilege of seeing our kids. If you'll give me a few days, I'll see what I can do to smooth things over. We don't have any plans this weekend, so how about dinner Friday evening? That gives me three days. Deal?”

            Logan considered vying for a sooner day, as the thought of waiting any longer put a pit in his stomach. Against his selfish will, his mouth moved. “Deal. I'll see you Saturday.”

            For the last time, silence made its presence known. Logan wanted nothing more than to keep talking to her, but she seemed to want to stop. “Ok, I'll let you go. I love you.” He relented. He could have swore he heard her release her held breath in relief.

            “I love you too.” The line beeped, indicating the other party hung up.

 

* * *

 

            Logan stared at the wall, the faint sounds of the city outside audible through the closed window, the sounds intimately familiar to Logan would normally have proven to be a lullaby. Tonight, however, sleep was imprisoned by a mind which refused to let sleep take over. He reached over to the nightstand and turned the phone screen on to check the time.

            _1 in the morning._ He thought glumly. _Two hours and I still can't sleep._

            _Trust me, if I were in control we would have been asleep one hour and 55 minutes ago. I'm so ready for sleep, can you just do whatever you need to do to sleep?”_

            “Someone's testy. _”_ Logan teased.

            _I'm testy because you're not sleeping, which means I'm not sleeping._ Cosmin sighed. _Look, I get you're nervous about Friday, but it's three...no two days away. There's no reason to fret about it now. So please, for the love of all that's good, go to sleep._

            “Cosmin, you don't understand. I keep wondering what they'll do once they see me in person. What happens if I get there and they run screaming and hide because the monster in their dreams came to life? What happens then? Do I just leave, resigning myself to never seeing them again? Or do I just stubbornly cling to a family that I no longer belong in?” Logan's eyes were wet, and he pulled the covers up tight under his chin, even though he was hardly cold.

            _Logan, you seem to forget that you haven't changed. Just because the physical form you've taken has changed, doesn't mean that what made you_ you _has changed. They may take it hard, sure. They may reject you initially, sure. But you can still prove to them that you were the father they once had. I can tell you would be willing to put in the time to make them believe._

            A smile tugged at the edge of Logan's lips. “I hope you find me worthy of your high praise.”

            _Yeah, don't let it go to your head. Just please go to sleep, alright?_

            Logan tried again to sleep, relaxing his body and closing his eyes. His doubts and fears were still there, lurking in the back of his mind. But, for the moment at least, they were forced into submission, and Logan fell into a dreamless sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

            Logan glanced over at the clock on the wall, the time reading 15 past nine. They'd been at it for an hour, or rather Alphys had been at it for an hour while Logan sat there watching her work, seemingly ignored for the moment. Figuring now was as good a time as any, he broke the silence.

             “Alphys, I have a question for you.” He said softly, trying to gently ease her our of her own little world.

            He was drowned out by Alphys' response, however. “Yeah?” She said automatically, not even looking up from her computer.

            “Would you be mad at me if I asked for afternoons off? I mean, I mostly sit idle and bored the entire time anyways, so why be here if you don't need me?” He waited, hopeful for her response.

            She thought on that for a second, then grinned sheepishly at Logan. “Yeah...I've been thinking about that. I felt bad when I realized that you were just sitting there bored out of your mind watching me put numbers into a terminal.” She looked away from Logan, like she was addressing her computer. “Yeah, I guess I can save up the things I need from you for the mornings. It spares you at least a half-day of boredom.”

            Logan grinned, excited by their success. “Thank you very much Alphys. Maybe we could even start today?” He looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs.

            Alphys sighed. “I _guess_ we can start doing that today. What's your hurry, though?”

            Logan, set aback by the question, stuttered in his response. “U-uh, Just...just really wanting that extra free time?” Logan winced.

            _Really?_ Was all Cosmin felt was necessary to say.

            Alphys raised an eyebrow, perplexed by Logan's response. “Okay...that's fine I guess? You don't have to tell me anything not related to testing if you don't want to.” Logan visibly relaxed, the tension leaving his body immediately.

            “Thanks, Alphys.” Logan said shamefacedly.

            She smiled. “You're welcome.”

 

* * *

 

            Logan arrived at the campus, the car dropping him off at the main building. The weather was so nice that, if he could have, Logan would have loved to stretch out on the patchy grass, allowing the warm sun to fend off the chill air. But he was on a mission, and he needed to find out where he could find Buell. Buell had told him over the phone that he was in the Cantrell building, on the northwest side of the campus. As the car had dropped him off on the south side of campus, Logan knew the general direction he needed to go to get there, but not exactly where it was.

            So he set out, heading due northwest. He scanned all of the buildings he passed, looking for the Cantrell building. He did not pay special attention to the people milling about, wanting instead to get to his destination quickly.

            _Well, it looks like people here don't appreciate us being on their campus._ Cosmin said, his voice dripping with malice.

            Curious about Cosmin's comment, Logan began paying attention to the people around him. He realized that people were, indeed, casting looks at him. Some stared, merely surprised by Logan. They looked away when their eyes met Logan's. Others made their feelings clear, their eyes shining bright with their disdain, or even hate, for Logan entering their domain. It was not hard for Logan to perceive their glares as a threat, so he quickened his pace.

            _Eh, don't let them get to ya. None of them have the guts to say anything to our faces. All they have the spine to do is hate us from afar._

            Still, Logan did not like the negative attention, and was grateful when he did finally find the correct building, and was able to hide inside from the groups of malicious glares.

            Inside, Logan took a gander at the directory and found Buell's name, noting his office number. He went in search of an elevator, but found stairs first, which he opted to take instead of the elevator. He was hardly winded after climbing a few flights of stairs, and strode quickly through the mostly empty hallways until he found Buell's office. The secretary, who guarded a row of offices, pointed them towards one of the doors when asked about Buell.

            Logan paused for a moment outside of Buell's office, giving himself one last chance to change his mind before opening the door.

            Inside, he found a small office, most of the space taken up by an L-shaped desk. One side of the L was pushed up against the wall on Logan's right side, and the other half stuck out into the room. There were bookshelves and filing cabinets against the wall behind the desk, and two small chairs sat on the other side of the desk, near the door. A computer sat on the portion of desk between Logan and the man he could only assume to be Dr. Buell.

            Buell, in Logan's estimation, was in his late 50's. He still had a lot of his steel gray hair, which was slicked back. His face showed his age, and the bags under his eyes contrasted his well put-together hair. He was fairly pale, and not overly fit but not objectively fat. It was hard for Logan to tell, as he was sitting down, but he was likely of average height. He wore a button-up shirt and tie, but Logan couldn't see his legs because of the desk.

            Whatever he was working on, he was pretty well engrossed in it and didn't look up for several moments at the intruder. He had his head resting on one hand while the other moved a mouse around his desk, clicking periodically. Logan cleared his throat and Buell seemed to jump a little at who was there.

            At first, Buell was startled, almost fearful of Logan before he quickly stifled his fear behind a polite smile.

            “Hello, Logan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” Buell said, putting out his hand for Logan to shake.

            Logan reciprocated the gesture, noticing Buell's weak handshake. “Thank you. It's nice to meet someone with so respected in the scientific community.”

            His polite smile became more genuine. “Why, I'm flattered. Shall we get started?”

            Logan got a little uncomfortable. “Uh, are we doing this in here?”

            Buell gave a mirthful laugh. “No, of course not. I've set aside one of our labs to work in. We won't be bothered there, and it'll be private as well.”

            Buell walked around the desk, past Logan, to his office door which had shut behind Logan. He opened it and held it for Logan. “After you.” He gestured towards the door.

            Logan nodded his appreciation before walking out of the office, Buell following behind. Logan waited on him while he locked his office door, before following him away from the rows of offices, past the secretary and on down the hallway. They stopped at a lab room and Buell opened the door, again holding it for Logan.

            Logan, again, nodded his appreciation before walking inside, memories of lab time in college coming back to him. It looked exactly like he remembered a college lab looking, with lots of counter space for equipment, cabinets for storage, and at the back were cabinets marked with warnings. Buell walked to the back of the lab, and using a key unlocked one of the unlabeled cabinets, revealing lots of equipment, many of whose functions Logan could not discern.

            As he selected a piece of equipment that looked similar to a multimeter, Logan wanted to ask some questions now that they were alone again. “So Dr. Buell, I know today is the first time we've even met, but I was wondering if you had any ideas already? A lead, a hypothesis, anything?”

            Buell's face was passive as he played with the dials on the small plastic box. “Well, I've got a few ideas, sure. I'd need more time and data to tell you whether any of them would work.” He swapped out the metal prongs plugged into the device for much thinner, more needle-like prongs.

            Buell seemed apologetic. “Logan, I hate to start our testing with needles, but I need to measure the magic potential that the combination of your souls currently possesses, which means measuring close to your souls. Can you take your shirt off please?”

            Logan obliged and undid the buttons holding the back of his t-shirt together, pulling it off and setting it on the counter. Logan pulled up a stool and leaned forward on the counter, even though it was too short to be very comfortable for Logan. Once he was situated, Logan felt the press of cold metal on his back, but it wasn't the needles. Instead, it was round, and Logan looked back to find Buell was holding some sort of hand-held device against his back, moving it around while looking intently at a small display situated near the top.

            “So what's it like, being a human in a monster body?” Buell asked.

            Logan shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I mean, I know it's not my old body, but it does have a few perks.”

            “Like what?”

            “Well, magic is pretty cool. I'm still learning, but it's gone very quickly thanks to Cosmin being able to tutor me.”

            “What is doing magic like? I've always been curious, and monsters can't understand what life is like without it.”

            _To be fair, we are innately magic beings. Not like we've ever been not magical._

            “It's...intoxicating. Making fire appear in my hands never gets old, and it comes so effortlessly too.”

            “Interesting. Lets find out how much power you really have at your fingertips.”

            Buell hummed gently to himself as he set one hand-held device down, and picked up another, the multimeter-like thing.

            “Now you'll feel a small prick.” Buell said, before inserting one of the needles slowly into Logan's back. Logan drew in a sharp breath as it pierced his skin, and he closed his eyes even though he already couldn't see the long needle go in. It seemed to keep going deeper into his body, and he almost expected it to poke out of his chest before long. Then Buell repeated the same thing with the second needle, placing it at about the same height on Logan's back, but on the opposite side. Once both needles were in, Buell flipped a switch on the device in his hand.

            Logan heard a light _pop_ from behind him as Buell swore. Logan hissed as he felt the needles in his back jerk downwards and pull out of his back. Then he heard the sound of plastic hitting the white tile floor. Logan turned around to look, and found Buell was picking up the device he'd been using, which Logan could see the back was now charred, while waving a hand as if to cool it down.

            “Ow, that kinda hurt. What happened?” Logan asked wearily.

            Buell waved him off. “Apologies. I did not expect that to happen.” He looked at his hand and grimaced. “It's just...the meter blew out. Weirdest thing, I've never had one blow out on me testing biological sources of magic. Only our magic generators could generate enough magic potential to blow this thing out.” He paused for a minute. “Let me check something.”

            Buell walked over to the cabinet and pulled another box from it. This small, metal box was bigger than the last one, big enough he needed two hands to hold it comfortably. Buell disconnected the leads from the old, broken tool and connected them to the new one before inserting the needles back into Logan. When he flipped it on, Buell watched the only dial on the face of the instrument with amazement.

            “Wow...you really _do_ have a lot of magic power. I've never seen any person, human or monster, with this amount of raw magic at their fingertips. You said you did simple magic like flames easily, have you tried anything more complex?”

            Logan thought for a moment. “I mean, I haven't been doing this for that long, so no I haven't done anything that complex.”

            “Hm...” Was all Buell said, before turning the instrument off and writing something in a small notebook he pulled out of his pocket.

            The three of them continued to work together for several hours, before Logan couldn't stand it any longer. It was like those first days with Alphys, being just constantly poked and prodded, but it was more tolerable coming from a human. Regardless, by early evening Logan was ducking out of the lab, convinced that Buell would want to work late into the night if he didn't take it upon himself to make them quit for the evening. Buell reluctantly relented, accepting that they would continue where they left off.

 

* * *

 

            Logan stepped into the small, busy restaurant. It wasn't far from Cosmin's apartment, and it was at his recommendation that they were there at all. It was the sort of place that would be easy for anyone to look past, little more than a small hole in the wall. Not run down, but the building it was in definitely showed its age. He looked in through the windows and found that the place, while small, was fairly busy at this time of day. The place was called Mel's Diner, as the neon sign above the storefront proudly proclaimed.

            Logan pushed open the door, bells attached to the door jingling as he walked into the place. Seated throughout in tables and booths, both monsters and humans ate their meals, monsters sitting with monsters and humans sitting with humans. A uniformed monster wove her way through the tables toward Logan in a hurry, eyes wide open.

            “Whoa, it's you. I'd seen you here several times before, but I wasn't sure if...if you'd come here again.” She caught herself and winced. “Sorry, you're probably here for some food. Would you like a booth or table?”

            Logan was taken aback by the oddly sincere words, but recovered quickly. “Uh, neither actually. I think I just want my order to go.”

            She nodded. “O-Of course. Please, let me at least find you a place to sit and wait for your food.” She started scanning the tables, taking stock of which were currently unoccupied.

            Looking nervously around, Logan stopped her. “No, no. You don't need to give me a table to myself. I'll just have a seat at the bar.” He pointed to an empty stool fixed next to the long wooden countertop.

            Now she laughed nervously. “Of course, can't believe I forgot about the bar. Feel free to have a seat there. I'll get you a menu.” She reached into a bin affixed to the wall near the door and pulled out a laminated menu, and followed Logan to the stool. Logan climbed onto the stool, and she set the menu down before scurrying away. A little weirded out by the exchange, he picked up the menu and looked over it. There was a lot of typical diner fare, but Logan noticed some of the menu items were marked with a little symbol. Looking near the bottom of the menu, he saw that this particular symbol denoted items which could be made with monster ingredients rather than human ingredients. It also noted that humans could not request theirs be made with monster ingredients.

            Logan figured that he would choose a safe bet for dinner, not one of the more interesting items. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approach from a door behind the bar and stop in front of him. Logan looked up to find a kind-faced man in his early forties sporting a large mustache on the other side of the bar.

            “Howdy, Cosmin. How's it been, having the entire world scrutinizing you?”

            “Not fun. Hate having everyone act like they know me just because they'd seen me on TV.”

            He put his hands on the bar and nodded slowly. “I can only imagine. What can I get ya?”

            “Just a double cheeseburger and large fries, please.”

            He nodded. “Comin' right up. You want something to sip on while you wait?”

            Logan waved him off. “No thank you, I'll be fine.” The man grunted in response, and stood upright. “I'll get that right out to ya.” He tapped his hand on the counter and left back through the door he came from.

            _Who was that?_ Logan asked.

            _That was Malcolm, the guy who runs this place. Everyone just calls him Mel. Great guy, has quite a few monsters in his employ._

            Sitting there, Logan idly watched the other patrons in the diner. He became aware of glances his way, many of the humans looking as if they'd eaten something nasty. Until Logan made eye contact with them, and then they looked hurriedly away. Perhaps ashamed that they'd been 'caught'. There was one patron, however, that did not avert their gaze when their eyes met Logan's. A patron who was sitting a couple stools down from Logan stared at him. When Logan had come in, he hadn't even given Logan a glance. Now he stared Logan down, only looking away long enough to get another bite of food.

            It was unnerving, so Logan did his best to avoid eye contact. _You should really tell him to mind his own business._ Cosmin said.

            _No reason to go and poke a bear. Don't want to get in a fight._

            Cosmin's response was delayed. _Yeah, he does look like the sort to start throwing punches when someone stands up for themselves. We may be strong, but a human fist packs a lot of punch to a monster._

            They were spared having to do anything by the door behind the bar swinging open, and Mel came back out with a brown paper sack. A couple animal heads followed behind him, poking out from behind the door, one a bear the other bird. “Here ya are. A double cheeseburger and large fries.” He set down the sack. Logan began fishing out his wallet, but Mel held up a hand. “Nah, don't worry about it. It's on the house. Guys working in the back of the kitchen practically begged me to give it to ya for free. They wanted me to let ya know they're all rooting for you.”

            “Friggin' monster sympathizer.” The voice came from the man sitting two stools down from Logan, just loud enough that it could be heard by both Mel and Logan. The two heads poking out from behind the door zipped back into the kitchen.

            “You got a problem with the way I run my business, Cyrus?” Mel's eyes became hard and sharp like flint.

            Cyrus pointed his finger at Logan. “Yeah. That thing down there's an abomination, the worst kind of thief around. Government should have shot him like the criminal he is. He don't deserve any kindness from nobody.”

            “If you don't like the way I run my business, then feel free to go somewhere else. No one'll stop ya.”

            Cyrus shoved the last of his burger into his mouth and brushed his hands off. “I'm not comin' back. I very nearly quit commin' here when ya started usin' animals as labor, but I came back 'cause you're just usin' the resources available to ya. But givin' that guy a free meal when he should be in front of a firing squad is the last straw. I'm outta here.” He stormed out of the restaurant, and the patrons who had stopped to watch this affair one by one went back to their own conversations.

            Logan watched him leave, and once he was gone turned back to Mel. “Hey, I'm sorry if I've-”

            Mel stopped him. “Nothin' to be sorry about. If he can't even fathom that someone should be treated with decency when they haven't broken the law, then I don't want his business. Though, between you and me, he'll probably be back next week. That's what he did when I started hiring monsters to work. They're the only reason I can sell you food that's good for you to eat at all. Practically saved this place from bankruptcy.”

            He pushed the bag over to Logan's side of the counter. “Either way, I won't hold ya up any longer. Your food's gettin' cold. Just know you're always welcome here, and there are people, humans, who are rootin' for ya.”

            Logan picked up the bag and nodded his thanks. “Thank you very much. Have a good evening.”

            “You too.” Logan heard it as he walked to the front door and pushed it open, stepping out into the chilly night air.

            Logan walked out of the restaurant, carrying his bag of food to eat back at Cosmin's apartment. Experiences like that were why he didn't usually eat inside restaurants, but instead ate in the privacy of Cosmin's apartment. All it took was one jerk like Cyrus and his meal was instantly ruined, even if all they did was call Logan a criminal. If only they realized that their comments weren't just for Cosmin, but for Logan as well.

            He had walked about a block from the restaurant, and there was not a ton of people out and about, when from an alleyway cast in shadow by a streetlight a pair of hands reached out and grabbed Logan, seeming to pull him effortlessly into the shadows. He yelped in surprise, was pulled off his feet, and was tossed down the alleyway, the person grunting with the effort.

            Logan hit the ground on his back with a grunt and skid, his spines scraping along the hard concrete ground. The bag of food spilling its contents on the ground nearby, releasing its aromatic smell. His heart had already started racing, and he heard multiple footsteps approaching him from the alleyway entrance. Logan tried to get up on his feet quickly to get away, but another hand pushed him back down roughly. He fell back down on his back, this time looking up at his assailants. It was a group of three people, probably human. Logan couldn't tell for sure, as their faces were obscured by simple, white masks. They were all dressed in dark clothes, making their masks stand out starkly against the inky blackness.

            They were a mere foot from Logan, and stood there nonchalantly, as if Logan was not a threat and they were in no hurry to do anything. He looked behind himself, as if to run further down the alley, but realized that, not 15 feet away, was a tall, brick wall which would prevent any and all escape. Without an option to run, he was paralyzed with fear, especially once he saw that two of them carried makeshift weapons, one a length of steel pipe, and the other a baseball bat.

            As they stood there, sizing Logan up and laughing when he came up short, Cosmin screamed at Logan. _Do something! Don't just sit here and let them hit you. You know some magic; use that!_

            In all of the things he thought about doing, the thought had never occurred to him that he could use magic. Having never used it in a fight before, he doubted its efficacy. Still, wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

            Logan recalled on Cosmin's experience with fighting magic, which they had been sharing over the past week. He got up from the ground shakily and readied some magic. Cosmin's body responded to his intentions to harm, and its claws extended. The group tensed at seeing the faint glow emanate from Logan's hands, and as he threw basic magic pellets towards the trio, they seemed to be able to dodge Logan's attacks with near perfect accuracy despite being so close, ducking and twisting almost gracefully. The best Logan seemed to be able to do was keep them from advancing, but they were starting to get better quickly. His pool of experience tapped out pretty quickly, and soon there was nothing Logan could do to keep them at bay. They made a steady advancement towards Logan, while he slowly backed up, trying to not trip over the detritus in the alleyway.

            Logan began to panic, deviating from the patterns that had been drilled into Cosmin. Where before the little balls of magic moved in set patterns, these flitted around erratically. Any reservations Logan had fell to the wayside, and these pellets were no longer an attempt to deter or scare away the threat. Though the pellets did not appear to change to the humans, a monster would have been shocked at the power contained within them.

            When this happened, the attitudes of the trio changed quickly. Dodging the bullets was no longer trivial, easy. Now it was a challenge, actually a threat to them. One of them took a hit, and was knocked to the ground, stunned by the ferocity of the hit. Everyone stopped and looked at the stunned person for a moment, even Logan. He was on the ground, curled up in a ball groaning in pain.

            Now the remaining two charged Logan. The one who previously hadn't held anything pulled a police baton out of his jacket pocket and snapped it open before rushing at Logan, who was too stunned to react in time. The blow landed right across his jaw, snapping his face around and sending him flying into the brick wall of the building next door, crumpling in a heap.

            Logan saw stars, and his mind struggled to grapple with what had just happened to him. Before he could tell what was going on, he felt a foot kick him square in the side, and again. And again. All Logan could think to do was curl up in a ball as much as he could and try to make himself a small target to hit.

            After taking several blows, Logan was in bad shape. The blows stopped, and Logan lay on the ground, listening to his ragged breaths and the other's labored breathing. After succumbing to a fit of coughs, he looked up and saw one of the assailants get down on one knee, staring Logan down as he spoke to him, his voice like ice.

            “I hope you've learned your lesson today. Tell all your little monster buddies about what happened to you today, 'cause it'll happen to any other monster who thinks they can take what don't belong to them.”

            The goon reared back with his police baton, and Logan, in a blind panic sent a dense wave of pellets in an unavoidable arc. Several of them struck the goon, and he was sent flying back several feet into the opposite wall of the alley, where he hit and then slumped to the ground unmoving.

            Logan got shakily to his feet, and saw the last goon was hesitant, torn between running towards or away from Logan. Logan, however, was not going to take a chance; he immediately sent a hailstorm of magic bullets towards the goon, who turned tail and started to run, only to be hit in the back by the barrage, and knocked to the ground. The goon did not move again once he hit the ground.

            Logan stood there, clutching his side and breathing heavily from the exertion. Cosmin swore in Logan's mind. _That was friggin' awesome! I can only imagine what you could do with proper attack magic training!_ A pause, then the awe shifted back to fear. Cosmin swore again. _Logan, you gotta go. They're starting to get back up._

            Logan started to limp quickly towards the alleyway's exit. He observed that Cosmin was correct; the first goon he'd hit was starting to get up. As he passed the first goon he'd hit, Logan almost got tripped when he attempted to grab at Logan. Fortunately, he was too slow and Logan was able to keep out of his grasp.

            Logan made it out of the alleyway, and turned towards his apartment, where he knew he would be safe. He made it about twenty feet when a loud crack rang out, and Logan felt his body jerk from the force of something impacting him, followed by searing pain. He could guess what had happened, and went into an eloping sprint, hearing more cracks behind him as he made his getaway, the goons not giving chase. Their message had already been delivered.

 

* * *

 

            Once Logan had gotten away, he'd called emergency services, whom promptly sent him to the local hospital in an ambulance. The paramedics, surprisingly, discovered that Logan wasn't in immediate danger of dying, despite having wounds which would have instantly killed many monsters. Still, the emergency room was the only medical service open at the late hour, so that was where he now sat with a doctor, who was a kindly mouse-like monster.

            “Hey, I know that hurts, but I need to be sure there's no fragments left before I heal you up. Please stay as still as you can.” Logan was laying down on the examination table, on his side with his shirt off. The doctor was wearing a pair of glasses, and one side had a magnifying glass flipped down over the lens. He was looking around with a pair of forceps in the small cavity the bullet had made in Logan's abdomen.

            Frisk was sitting in a chair by the door, watching the doctor work. He looked exhausted, Logan figuring he'd been working up to the point that he came to meet Logan at the hospital. He'd loosened his tie and taken his sport coat off, draping it on the chair next to him. “What happened, Logan?” He asked haggardly.

            “Well, I was just taking dinner home, when a group of guys jumped me, drug me into the alley where they beat the snot out of me. I guess I managed to incapacitate them enough to get away with magic, but one of them must of come around enough to take some potshots at me.”

            Frisk seemed taken aback by Logan's tale. “You took them down with magic alone?”

            Logan was nonplussed. “Why? Is something weird about that? I thought that was how all monsters fought.”

            “It is.” Frisk admitted. “The only weird thing is most monsters wouldn't have been able to take on three adult humans at the same time.”

            The doctor had finished his examination, taking off the glasses and addressing Logan with his quiet demeanor. “Alright. It looks like the bullet passed clean through your body and didn't leave any fragments, so I'm going to close the wound up. I will warn you, it will not be pleasant, and I need you to keep still. If you don't think you can handle that I can restrain you. Are we clear?”

            “Yeah, sure. It already hurts badly, so anything to make it better sooner is golden in my book.”

            “Then please don't move. I will not need long.” The doctor placed his hands palm down just above the place where the hole was, and light yellow tendrils of magic went from his palms and into the wound, curling into Cosmin's flesh. Logan would have normally been a little weirded out by the process, but as soon as the doctor began he figured out what the doctor meant by 'not pleasant'. It wasn't pain; the wound still throbbed. No, it was itching. The worst itching that Logan had ever experienced in his life, and it took everything he had to not start clawing at the hole. He grit his teeth, and dug his claws into the table, creating gashes in the metal on the sides of the table. But it was over quickly, for which Logan was grateful.

            The doctor put his hand on Logan's shoulder and helped him upright. Before the doctor could warn him, Logan touched the place where the bullet wound used to be and was rewarded with white-hot pain.

            “Don't touch it. I only closed up a portion near the surface. I cannot spare the magic capability to fully and completely heal a wound of that caliber, unfortunately. You aren't the only patient I'll see tonight. But, if you eat well, within the next few days you should be feeling much better, and a couple weeks out should be perfectly healthy again.” He  picked up a clipboard from a nearby counter. “I'll be right back with some paperwork for you to fill out.” He left the room, leaving Logan and Frisk alone.

            “Logan, you got really lucky this time. The doctor was right, you should have died tonight. I've seen monsters taken down by less, and I fear your attackers may come back with a vengeance. I think it would be best if I assigned a protection detail to you.”

            Perplexed, Logan looked at Frisk. “You want to give me a bodyguard?”

            Frisk nodded. “Yes. MRRG keeps several, well-vetted people on staff to do this sort of thing. If you were to look outside this room, you would find one of them. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you and I didn't do something to protect you.”

            Logan was unsure about this proposition. “So would it be a guy who follows me around everywhere, protecting me? Would that mean that everywhere I go is logged somewhere?”

            “Well, I suppose someone would know where you are at all times. If you're thinking about your guard reporting on where you are all the time to me, or anyone else at MRRG, then no. I don't care what you do outside of your 'work' hours, as long as you're not breaking the law. Your guard will, by necessity, _have_ to know where you are at all times to do his job. They are under strict confidentiality agreements which would prohibit them from talking to anyone about what you do, if that makes you feel any better. To be clear, I'm not wanting you to have one to spy on you. They're just guys who will keep you safe. Well, one guy anyways.”

            Logan paused, considering his options. _Dude, you better take on his offer. I don't want to get the snot beaten out of us again. Or friggin'_ shot _. Hope you didn't forget_ that _happened._

            Logan sighed, resigned that this was his fate for the moment. “Fine. I'll take the guard.”

            Frisk nodded. “It's really not so bad, Logan. You get used to it pretty quickly. They are very good at staying out of your way if you don't want to talk to them.”

            A nurse came back in with a clipboard brimming with paperwork. Logan sighed, took the pen attached to the clipboard, and began filling out paperwork with Frisk's help. By the time Logan had checked out of the hospital and had been escorted home by Frisk who refused to let him go alone, it was well into the night. Logan was sure to take a warm shower, being mindful of the bruises and cuts that the doctor didn't heal. After that, he climbed gingerly into bed, and thanks to exhaustion, was very quickly asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

            A few days went by with Logan splitting his time pretty much evenly between Alphys and Buell. Explaining what had happened to him that night was made easier by the news next morning, whom jumped on the opportunity. In usual style, Frisk wanted to make this public as soon as possible, and this time Logan and Cosmin both agreed. This did mean that Logan spent a good part of the next day responding to well-meaning friends and family, both Cosmin's and Logan's, who wanted to express their concerns and sympathies.

            The first day Logan was too sore to be of much help, but by the third he could move around almost as well as he did before, most of the soreness gone. It was on this third day, in the lab room where Buell had been experimenting with Logan, that he put forth an idea.

            “Logan, the data that I've been gathering from you has been invaluable. It has helped humanity's understanding of the soul more than you can know. In fact, I might even have a theory about how we might be able to bring you back to life, so to speak.”

            Logan was flabbergasted. “You're not serious. Three days and you already have an idea about how you might be able to help us?”

            “Well, it is indeed still an idea. But an idea the data I've gathered already might support.” He leaned up against one of the counters and crossed his arms. “In the little bit of time we've been together, it wasn't hard to isolate the source of your incredible magic potential.” He paused for a little bit of dramatic effect. “Determination, or DT. Every human soul has this mysterious force, some more than others. I've been studying DT, even been able to isolate it from living humans. Until now I couldn't find a good use for it, and now you can use it.”

            Cosmin seemed to squirm, agitated by the mention of DT. _What's wrong?_ Logan asked.

            _It's just DT is safe for humans, but dangerous for monsters. You've seen the pictures of the amalgamates, haven't you?_ The name rang a bell for Logan, and images of semi-solid, deformed monsters popped into his head. That _is what happens to monsters who are exposed to DT. I don't want to end up like that Logan._

            Buell continued. “The nature of the bond between both of your souls allows for a soul's natural stores of DT to be tapped and turned into raw magical energy. DT converted this way apparently creates a lot of magical energy from a small amount of DT. Normally your God-given reserves of DT would not be sufficient to do anything really crazy with magic, at least not things which have already been established as possible to do with magic.”

            Logan tapped his finger nervously, feeding off of Cosmin's anxiety. Buell continued, “But now, knowing that your only limitation is your stores of DT, I think we can come up with a way to infuse you with additional DT, thus increasing your potential magic output dramatically.”

            Now Cosmin was really starting to freak out. _Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap. No friggin' way am I going to let him pump DT into_ my _body. I don't want to be turned into even more of a freak than I am now._

            But Logan was interested, and beckoned for Buell to continue. “If we could get sufficient magic energy, many things which had been previously impossible would become quite possible. Including creating a new body for you Logan from a cadaver.” Seeing Logan's expression, Buell raised his hands to pacify Logan. “Now I know that sounds bad, but using an already formed human body would be a lot simpler than trying to build one from the ground up. Even today's scientific understanding hasn't been able to do that, let alone doing it with humanity's magical understanding.”

            Cosmin couldn't fathom why Logan was still listening, or even considering what Buell was proposing. _Why are you still listening to this guy? He's going to get us both killed, for real this time._

            Logan responded to Cosmin's concerns vocally, voicing them to Buell. “That all sounds fine and good, and trust me I'm very interested. But I need to know, what risks would I or Cosmin be taking by doing this?”

            Buell hesitated. “Well, it's still early, and I'm still working on the specifics. I can assure you that I would never put you or Cosmin through anything that would be dangerous to either of you, at least without you knowing the risks.” A pause, then something clicked in Buell's mind. “Ah, I think I know where your concerns come from. Very noble, thinking about the monster vessel you currently inhabit. I'm familiar with what DT does to monster bodies under normal circumstances. No, the DT shouldn't harm his body. While a normal human soul doesn't produce or keep a lot of DT, it has the potential to store quite a bit. Any DT we use for this...procedure, I suppose we'll call it, will all stay contained in Logan's soul, safely tucked away until Cosmin's soul calls upon it.”

            The tantalizing prospect to Logan. “How soon until you might be ready to actually try this?”

            Cosmin turned to heated anger, lashing out at Logan verbally. _Hey, this isn't just your decision, you dingbat! You're doing things in my body without even asking me how I feel about it!_

            _Cosmin, we'll talk about this later. We may not-_

            Cosmin interrupted Logan, his thoughts overpowering Logan's own. _No, we will_ not _talk about this later. We will talk about this now. I do not want to do this unless Alphys has exhausted all of her options, as I don't trust Buell near as much, especially given his hare-brained scheme._

            Cosmin's rant had caused Logan to miss what Buell had said. “I'm sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that.” Logan asked politely.

            “I said, it would probably take me a couple months to ensure that this could work and get everything in place. But I'm certainly willing to put the effort in to get it all ready if you're willing to try it.”

            _See? That gives Alphys time to come up with an alternative, and it guarantees that we won't be stuck like this for more than a few months. Surely that's worth something to you?_ Logan asked.

            _I've already told you how I feel about this, and my mind hasn't changed._ Cosmin seemed to go very quiet for Logan, and Logan gathered that he had said his piece and wasn't going to say any more.

            Buell was waiting for a response, and Logan was feeling pressured from two sides to make a decision. “Dr. Buell...this is all moving so fast. Can you give me a few days to decide? I don't mean to be rude, but this is just a big decision to make, and it's not just me making it.”

            Buell seemed disappointed in the response. “Well, okay. I need to know that you're going to actually go through with this before I start spending time and money getting everything set up.  So the sooner you confirm with me that you're wanting to do this, the sooner we can get the two of you separated.”

            Refusing to meet Buell's eyes, Logan said, “I promise you'll have an answer in a few days Buell. I just need time to process, that's all.”

            Logan's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and noticed it was an alert about dinner with his family, which was that evening. He would need to leave then to have plenty of time to get there, and maybe freshen up back at Cosmin's apartment before going there. “Buell, I need to get going. I've got dinner at my family's house this evening, and I really don't want to be late.”

            Buell smiled politely. “Okay, no problem. I'll see you Monday afternoon, right?” He stuck out his hand for Logan to shake.

            Logan gave the hand a quick squeeze. “Yes, you will. Bye.” He turned around and hurried out of the lab.

            “Goodbye.” Buell said to Logan's back. He followed Logan out of the lab, though not with the same hurried pace. Instead of going to the elevator, where Logan was standing waiting, he went into the rows of dark offices, and using his key, opened up his inner sanctuary.

            He turned on the small lamp sitting on his desk rather than the overhead lights. He liked it much better than the overhead lights, casting a warm glow instead of a harsh white glare. He powered his computer on, and set to work crunching some numbers.

            A couple hours of working at his computer later, Buell was not a happy man. He'd run the numbers three times now, and every time with the measurements collected from Logan he got energy requirement numbers far greater than he'd originally expected to see. This would mean that Logan would have to convert much more DT to achieve the desired result, and do it quicker to prevent DT buildup in Logan's soul.

            Buell was not confident in the safety of this procedure anymore. The amount of DT that Logan's soul would be exposed to would be hazardous, if not outright deadly. Not to mention the new risks of accidental exposure the monster host would have. Buell's conscience told him that he needed to call this off. It was too dangerous and reckless to try right now, and maybe with more time he could improve the process.

            He reached for the phone and grabbed it, but didn't bring it to his ear. If he was able to pull this off, which was still possible, what it meant for both him and for humanity as a whole. For him, his name would become a household name. He would be the first to bring a human back from the dead. Fame, fortune, respect. All of it would be his. Why wouldn't it? If they were successful, it would put immortality tantalizingly close for all of humanity. This was already something certain monsters got to enjoy, why shouldn't humanity have the opportunity as well?

            Buell slowly took his hand off the phone as his mind sparred with itself over what to do, his ambition winning the fight. He would do this, regardless of the risks, and when he was successful would no longer be in the shadow of monsters.

           

* * *

  

            Logan was left on the curb, the cold night wind ruffling his fur. He'd gone home and changed, and was now wearing a nicer polo and slacks. His bodyguard stood next to him, wearing similar sorts of casual wear. When Logan first met him, he was surprised about how normal he looked, always wearing normal civilian clothes to sort of blend in. And true to Frisk's word, he did generally stay out of the way. He wasn't around all of the time; he would follow Logan until he was safely locked in Cosmin's apartment before going home every evening. Two different guards took rotations protecting Logan, and both were fairly amenable to Logan's requests.

            “Hey, uh...Davidson, isn't it? Can I ask you a favor?” Logan asked.

            He turned his head to acknowledge he was listening. Davidson was the less talkative of the two, which Logan was okay with.

            “Would you mind giving me some space here? I don't mean to be rude, but I want some privacy being with my family, and I'll be reasonably safe in there. A few hours should be good, and I'll call you before I leave the house if I'm done sooner. I know there's a nice coffee shop about a half a block away from here, just go hang out there for a little bit, please?”

            He nodded, but didn't move. Logan figured he wouldn't leave until he was safely inside. So he took a step towards the house that in another life he called home. It was a small affair, crammed right up against the houses next to it. The house was, for the most part, well cared for, though it was missing some shingles on the roof and the paint was starting to fade.

            _We were just about to fix this place up. We were going to paint the walls the previous weekend, and we almost saved enough to put a new roof on. Don't know what she'll do now, if she'll stick with the original plan or...something else.._ Logan mused plaintively.

            He checked on the flowers that he bought on the way there. The colorful array of reds, yellows, and whites, looked slightly bedraggled, but it was the best he could find. He felt that he had to bring something, even though it was his house that he was approaching.

            _Or was._ He thought dourly. He walked up the small staircase leading to the door, his guard standing at the edge of the road behind him, watching with his arms crossed. Pausing at the doorstep to collect himself, but not pausing so long as to bring on Cosmin's ire, he knocked at the door, his heart pounding in his chest.

            The door opened several seconds later, Elle standing there looking a little worse for wear.

            “Hey, Elle.” Logan said. He held out the flowers for her. “Thought I would bring a gift for you.” He smiled, and so did she. But hers was twinged with sadness, not entirely mirthful.

            “Thank you, Logan. They're lovely, I'll have to get a vase for them. Come in.” She stepped to the side of the doorway and let Logan inside.

            Logan stepped inside, shutting and instinctively locked the door behind him. The familiar appearance of the inside of his home warmed Logan's soul. All was as he remembered it being; the hardwood floors which showed small, dusty footprints; the coat-hanger near the door with both large, adult-sized coats and small, colorful children's coats; the small table near the front door which accumulated the house's clutter. It was all there, just as he'd left it that fateful day.

            But it seemed like something was off, like something important had been changed even though none of the physical things had changed. Then it dawned on Logan. It was all the same except for him. _He_ was different now, not quite the same person he was when he left that fateful day.

            Elle came back with a clear vase, which had about six or so inches of water in the bottom of it. She set it down on the small table and took the flowers from Logan, where she began arranging them in the vase.

            The pitter-patter of small feet approached from the doorway on Logan's left. She rounded the corner and froze, locking eyes with Logan. Logan knew that was Katie, based on her smaller stature alone. She took a lot after her mom, with her olive skin and dark hair.

            She turned tail and hid behind the corner, peeking out to see if the monster had noticed her. Logan crouched down and called out to her, trying to be as friendly as possible. “Katie, come over here, please. I won't hurt you, I promise.” She didn't move, still watching him warily from behind the wall.

            Elle sighed, and turned to her daughter. “Katie, go get your sister and tell her to go to the living room. We need to talk about some stuff with you and your sister, okay?” She nodded and scurried away without so much as a word.

            Logan couldn't help but be hurt by her immediate rejection of him. _Hey, don't feel that way. This is really hard for her, Logan._

            _Doesn't make it hurt any less._ Logan replied bluntly.

            “So what do they know?” Logan asked quietly.

            Elle crossed her arms. “They know it all, really. It's not like I can keep anything from them when literally everyone's talking about it. I don't think either of them know what to do with what they know, though. You'll see what I mean when we talk to them in the living room.”

            Unspoken thoughts led Logan to follow Elle to the living room. Logan knew the way, and he entered the room to find his two kids already there, both sitting on the couch. Katie, who was 7, was a head shorter than her sister Tracy, who took more from Logan's side of the family with her fair features, light blond hair, and icy blue eyes.

            Tracy was the first to notice Logan, and the fire behind her eyes confused Logan. They weren't the fearful eyes that he expected, especially given Katie's reaction; instead they were bright with defiance, a look he'd seen before but never this intense.

            Logan took a seat in the chair perpendicular to the couch. It was a little small for Logan, and he had to sit on the edge of it to not damage it with his spines. Elle took a seat in between the two girls, who gladly made room for her on the couch. Elle took both of them under her wings, putting an arm around both of them. Katie especially put herself close to her mom, peering around the safety of Elle's arm to keep an eye on the thing in their living room warily.

            Elle took the liberty to start the conversation. “Girls, I know you know what's been going on the past couple weeks. It's been hard on all of us, and you both already know who this is, don't you?”

            Tracy spoke, her voice like venom. “Yeah, that's Cosmin Teodore, the thief who took what didn't belong to him. Why are you here? Is it so that you can rub it in our faces?”

            Logan was caught off guard by the harsh statement. Elle glared at her daughter. “Tracy! You should know better than to talk to someone like that.”

            Tracy returned fire. “But it's the truth! He did take dad's soul!”

            Logan spoke, trying to defuse the situation. “No Tracy. I'm not here to gloat or anything like that. I'm here because I wanted to see you two again. You probably know this already, if your mom's correct, but even though it's Cosmin's body, I, Logan your father, am in control of it and am speaking to you directly.” She started to interrupt, but he held up a hand, silencing her. “I agree, and even Cosmin agrees that what he did was wrong. He shouldn't have taken my soul. But look at it this way, if Cosmin hadn't done what he did, we wouldn't be talking right now.”

            Tracy crossed her arms, and Katie began to sniffle. “I don't believe you. I want you to give back what is not yours, and stop pretending to be my dad!” She was irate, almost uncontrollably so.

            Elle glared even more at her daughter. “Don't you dare speak to your father like that!” She rebuked.

            Tracy wrestled from her mom's grasp, and stood defiantly in the middle of the room, pointing towards Logan. “That _thing_ is not my father!” She ran out of the room, the words hitting Logan like a sledgehammer. He swallowed roughly, trying to maintain his composure. Elle was aghast, never seeing this amount of fury from her daughter before.

            A dead silence fell on the room, punctuated only by the sniffles and soon sobs that came out of little Katie, who cried in her mother's embrace while she spoke soft, soothing words. Logan sat there, quietly stewing in self-pity. His ears were pinned back, eyes downtrodden and wet, back bent as if under a great load. He didn't say anything; he simply let Elle, the only person in the world whom she would trust right now try to help her daughter recover from the great storm that had followed Logan into the house, tearing his family's world asunder.

            _I've failed them._ Logan thought miserably.

            Cosmin was silent, struggling to come up with any words to provide healing salve the wounds Logan was now nursing. _Logan...I'm so sorry._

            It was around 30 minutes before Elle was able to quiet Katie down. Katie, exhausted, fell into a fitful sleep next to her mother. Once she'd quieted down, Logan got up to leave.

            “I think I should go. This was a mistake to come back. I've only hurt the people that I wanted to protect in the first place by staying away. Just like I thought it would.” He started to leave, but Elle's quiet voice stopped him.

            “Logan, wait. Don't go. I...I know things didn't go as well as we could have hoped, but that doesn't mean that you should stay out of their lives. They miss you so much...and so do I.” She was pleading with him, her eyes begging him to not go.

            “How can I stay when one of my daughters hates me more than anything else in the world, and the other one is terribly afraid of me? How can I be in their world when both of them view me so negatively? When my very presence changes their world so dramatically?”

            “ _Not_ being there changes their world dramatically. It changes _my_ world dramatically. If you leave, you only reinforce the idea that you're not Logan, the father they once knew. The father who would move mountains for his family, who would cheat death for crying out loud! How many people can say that they actually cheated death? Don't you _dare_ walk out on me and your daughters, wasting this literally once in a lifetime opportunity!” Logan could see her fiery steel mask, through the eyes desperation poured forth.

            He stood in the middle of the room, caught between two powerful forces pulling him in either direction. His wife's words had a grip on him, but his desire was to walk, no, to run to the door. He and his wife locked eyes, and he couldn't bring himself to look away. He felt trapped in that moment, like there was no option of escape even though nothing bound him there.

            “How do I fix this, Elle?” His eyes pleaded with her to let him go. But she didn't relent.

            “You fix this by spending time with your kids. _Be_ the father that they used to know. _Prove_ to them that you're not an impostor by _being there_ , as much as you can be. Then they will know that their father is alive, against all odds.”

            Logan's desire to leave faltered, then faded, but didn't completely abate. He was terrified of the mountainous challenge that Elle was demanding he take on. A challenge that, should he fail, he would be subjected to the complete ire of both of them.

            _Logan, you were already about to subject yourself to their ire by leaving. What do you have to lose but to try?_

            Nothing. He had nothing to lose.


	12. Chapter 12

            _Wow, it's been three months since I first woke up in your body. Seems like so long ago now._ Logan commented.

            _Yeah, it does._ Cosmin replied.

            He'd only noticed it because there was adding yet another event in his calendar. This one was a choir performance. Tracy was in this one, and taking Elle's advice he'd been there for everything he could possibly find time for. It proved challenging to balance Cosmin's obligations with Logan's, but they found a balance which kept them very busy, but was mostly satisfactory for both parties.

            Tracy and Katie had both come a long way in that time. It was a rough start with both of them, and it took Elle being there for the first month or so before they were comfortable enough with Logan to let him do things with them alone. Katie had become much more comfortable with Logan, and even started calling him dad a few weeks ago. Tracy still wasn't quite warmed up to the idea, though she mostly abandoned the idea that Logan was an impostor. Her hatred had long since cooled to indifference which betrayed a growing love for Logan. She even called him dad a few times, when she thought he wasn't listening.

            Logan twiddled his thumbs, extremely bored. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the time, discovering that Alphys had been gone for over 30 minutes. Her meetings with Frisk never seemed to take that long, and this time was proving to be an exception. Curious, Logan got up off his seat on one of the tables in the lab and made his way to Frisk's office. The secretary glanced at Logan, but once she saw who it was didn't stop him from going any further. Logan stopped at the door, hearing muffled voices inside. He was about to knock when Cosmin interrupted him.

            _Hold on. Lets have a listen. I've been really wanting to know what they talk about behind our back for months. Just put your ear to the door and see if you can hear what they're talking about in there._

            Logan hesitated for a moment, his sense of social niceties giving him pause before caving in to his own curiosity and putting one ear to the door. Once he did, he could make out what was being said on the other end.

            The first person he heard was Alphys, and she was clearly furious from her tone. “Frisk, I don't know what more you expect me to do. I've explored every avenue I could possibly think to explore. I can't find any way to put him in a different human body. Even if his old body hadn't been cremated, we couldn't even recover the body because of how damaged it was. We can't simply pass him off to another monster. I even looked into letting him take over a monster who has fallen down, and that isn't possible without potentially reviving the previous occupant. I can't hope to develop any sort of interface which would let Logan control a mechanical body anytime soon. And just today, colleagues of mine confirmed that making Logan an entirely new body isn't feasible either with current human technology. Do _you_ have any other ideas, Frisk?”

            The other party, whom Logan assumed was Frisk, didn't speak. “That's what I thought. Look, I have no idea where to go from here, and I'm fairly certain I can separate the two of them.  I'm tired of keeping the truth from Logan. I'm tired of researching more and more unlikely methods of trying to do the impossible. I'm tired of my life-saving research being put on hold to help what appears to me to be a lost cause. I'm tired of keeping Cosmin hostage to Logan's whims.”

            “Alphys, surely in three months you haven't been able to cross literally every option off. I believe that if anyone can crack this, you can.”

            Alphys practically yelled at Frisk. “What is wrong with you, Frisk? I already told you I've done everything that I can. Logan died, and there's nothing we can do to reverse that! I know you feel like you need atonement for being unable to help Flowey, but vainly trying to save Logan is not going to help anyone!”

            The room became deathly quiet after Alphy's outburst of rage. “F-Frisk, I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean it-” She stuttered.

            “No. You did.” Frisk's voice was cold as steel. “You meant every word of it. If you're so sure that nothing can be done to help Logan, then you can tell him that. If you've really done everything in your power to help him, then it should be no problem to tell Logan that you've tried everything. And for your sake I hope your right, because if you're wrong, and there was something that could be done, _you_ will be the one that will have to live with that. Not me.”

            A pause. “Y-yes, Frisk. I understand.” Alphys said, barely audible through the door.

            “You're dismissed.” Frisk said. Logan turned and walked quickly from the door, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. As he rounded the corner he heard the door open and slow, shuffling feet come towards him. Seeing an empty conference room, he ducked into it and watched Alphys pass him through the blinds. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard from Frisk. It was always a possibility that they wouldn't be able to do anything for Logan, but he'd not quite fully entertained the idea until just now, when it happened. It made his choice of what to do next very clear. He strode away from the conference room, following the route towards the front door.

            _Logan, I know that kinda sucks, but maybe it's for the best? Maybe mankind was not meant to live beyond his body's ability to support his soul._

            _Tell that to my family, who just got their father back._ Cosmin didn't say anything more, so Logan spoke again. _Besides, we do have an option. Buell is basically ready to go for a little while, and has been badgering me for a few days now to get over there. Now that we know there's only one choice._

            Cold fear resonated within Logan's soul. _Logan, I really don't trust that guy. With everything Alphys said-_

            _Alphys is willing to let me die. How can you expect me to not give this a shot? To just lie down and tell my family 'Sorry kids, daddy is going to die because Cosmin didn't want to take any risks.' You explain that to my kids. To my wife._ Logan pushed the elevator call button, and got in the elevator, and sent it to the ground floor.

            _Have you considered the risks that I would be taking by doing this? If this fails, it's not just your soul moves on. I could die too! How would my parents feel if they lost their son over trying to help a lost cause?_

            Logan's anger softened, becoming more like despair. _I'm sorry Cosmin. I can't face my family if I give up this chance to be with them again. I only hope you can forgive me._

            Logan quickly ordered a ride to the front of the MRRG headquarters, ignoring Cosmin's protests as much as he could. The phone promised it would be there in around five minutes, so he waited around in the lobby. While he was waiting, he dialed Buell's office number and, surprisingly, he picked up.

            “Logan! I hope you're calling to tell me you'll be coming in to give the procedure a try.”

            “Yes. It's definitely a yes. How soon can you be completely ready to go?”

            Buell's voice was haughty, triumphant. “Splendid! I can have everything ready to start by tomorrow morning, around 8 or so. Can I expect to see you there then?”

            “Absolutely. I'll see you then. Bye.” Logan didn't wait for a response before ending the call.

            The car arrived out front. On the way to his old house, Logan got a call from Alphys. “Hello?” Logan asked.

            “Logan, it's Alphys. Where are you? It's kinda unusual for you to just disappear like this.” She asked, sounding agitated.

            “Sorry, just not feeling well today. Gonna go home and rest for a little bit.” In truth he was feeling just fine, but he didn't want to see her at the moment.

            “Not feeling well? Maybe you should come back and let me run some tests, just to be sure everything's alright. Besides, I have something to tell you that is too important to say over the phone.” Alphys said.

             “Nah, I'll be fine. Probably just tired and need to get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow.” Another lie. She wouldn't know it was a lie until tomorrow though.

            Alphys paused. “Okay. I guess I can tell you tomorrow. Uh, enjoy your day off.” She hung up without any further ado.

            As Logan headed towards his family's home to give them the news about Alphys' failure and Buell's procedure the next day, he stared out the window of the car, watching the buildings go past, trying to ignore the guilt that seemed to be slowly building in his soul.


	13. Chapter 13

            It was morning, and Logan was in the car heading towards Trinidad University. He had about thirty minutes to get there, but he wouldn't need all of that to get there on time. Besides, he wanted time before they got started to talk to his family, just in case this didn't work. Cosmin was still fuming, and hadn't stopped trying to talk Logan out of following through with this, but his arguments had long since grown stale, and fell on calloused ears. His phone rang, and when he saw it was Alphys calling, he was tempted to not answer. He knew that she was likely calling simply because it was now thirty minutes past when he would normally have been there, but it could have been just as likely to be her wanting to give him the grim news.

            _You at least owe her the courtesy of answering your phone._ Cosmin said quietly.

            Logan sighed, and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

            If Alphys' tone was any indication, she was sweating bullets right now. “L-Logan, where a-are you? I-I really n-need to talk t-to you.”

            He wasn't going to let her keep squirming for long. She must really have done everything in her power to do this. “Alphys, there's no need. I already know what you want to tell me.” He said calmly.

            “Wh-what? How?” She was stunned.

            “I overheard you and Frisk yesterday. I know that you think that there's nothing that can be done to save me, but you're wrong.”

            “Wrong? What m-makes you t-think I'm wrong?” She said, genuinely curious.

            “Because I've got a second opinion who has found a way. For all of your rants against Dr. Buell, he found an answer when you couldn't.”

            Her voice became desperate, talking fast as if she was on a time limit to talk to Logan. “Logan, I don't know what Buell has promised you, but if I couldn't find it it must not exist. Or at the very least, too dangerous to either of you.”

            “Alphys, I already have arranged with Buell to give it a try today. I would be negligent if I didn't try anything and everything. I'll see you later.”

            A“Wait, don't hang-” Logan hung up the phone.

            When he arrived at the university, he met up with his family, and they exchanged excited greetings before they all headed to Buell's office.

            Soon, he was striding into Buell's office, trailed by his family who waited outside while Logan went inside. He found Buell sitting at his desk, fidgety with excitement. He got up and quickly met Logan at his office door.

            “Logan! Are you ready to make history?” He smiled warmly, and clapped him on the back.

            “Yes. Let's get this done.” Logan walked out of the office, and Buell was a little surprised by the small group hovering outside his office door.

            “Ah. Is this your family, Logan?” Logan nodded, and introduced Buell to everyone.

            Buell led Logan to a different room than the one that they'd been spending so much time in. This one was much more spacious, but most of the space was taken up by an intricate design drawn on the floor, and any remaining space was taken up by boxes of various sizes. It was large, around 20 yards in diameter, consisting of lines and symbols that Logan had never seen before. In the center of the circle, a body lay, it's deathly pallor evident even from where Logan was standing. Near Logan, a stool sat next to two small, cylindrical machines. Tubes ran one way out of the two machines into a tank, which they shared. It was about a couple feet tall, and mostly full of a bright red substance that Logan thought may be the DT that Buell talked so much about. The machines and the stool were right next to the edge of the circle. Wires ran from both the two machines and sat loose on the stool to a console set up on a rickety desk.

            Suspended about 5 feet above the circle by metal supports which sat outside of the circle, three glowing cylinders, about two feet long and a foot wide. They were metallic as well, but the outside of them was covered with the same intricate designs as the circle. Anchored to the scaffolding, they pointed at an angle towards the circle, and the end closest to the circle glowed a light shade of blue. Thick bundles of wires ran off of each of them to what Logan guessed to be a large generator sitting in the far corner of the room. Cables also snaked from this contraption to the terminal set up on the desk.

            “Logan, have a seat over there on that stool and we'll get started.” Buell gestured towards the stool.

            “Just a second.” Logan turned to his kids and knelt down in front of them. “Alright, I won't be long. I love you both and I'll see you soon.” They hugged him, and he had to almost pry them off of him. Then, he addressed his wife. “Elle, I'll see you soon. I love you.” She, too, hugged him, and Logan wished he felt as confident about what was about to go down as he sounded.

            _Logan, please, don't do this! It's not too late; you can stop now._ Cosmin was begging now.

            _No, Cosmin. I can't._ Logan said, hardening his soul to Cosmin's pleas.

            “Alrighty guys. I'm really sorry but I'll need you all to wait outside. It's too dangerous to be in here when we start the procedure.” Buell herded them out while Logan stood and watched, his daughters looking back at him.

            Logan walked over to the stool and sat down once his family was out of the room. Buell came back and began attaching wires and tubes to various points all over Logan's body. Two clear tubes, one from each of the two small machines near the stool, were inserted into Logan's back after Buell consulted his small, hand-held tool.

            As he worked, Buell gave instructions to Logan. “Alright, it's pretty simple for you. All I need you to do in generate raw magical energy towards the body. The runes on the floor will weave the spell, and the stabilizers above the circle will ensure the magic gets where it needs to go. You're going to have to give it your all if you want this to work, though.”

            “Got it.” Logan said.

            “Once we get the body in good shape, both of your souls will be much more easily separated, and I'll take your soul and simply put it in the new body. Easy peasy.”

             Buell had finished and taken up his place at the terminal. “Let me do some final checks, and then we can get started.” He tapped some commands into the computer, and Logan heard the generator in the corner of the room begin to thrum with power, and the lights on the stabilizers brightened.

            Logan was nervous, his nerves not helped by the other soul in his body, who was now hysterically begging him to not continue with what he was doing now. Logan was doing his best to tune him out, but he was having trouble doing just that.

            _Oh god, oh god, oh god, please Logan don't do this, I don't want to die, I'm not ready to die-_

            Just then two figures burst into the room, and Logan recognized both of them.

            “Wait! Stop!” Frisk commanded, breathless.

            “Buell...what the...heck...are you...doing...” Alphys panted, sweat running down her face.

            Buell seemed genuinely pleased to see his former co-worker. “Ah, Alphys. What a pleasant surprise. I suppose I could explain it real quick for you before we start.” He sneered. “I am going to use Logan's power to create a new body for him to reside in. Today we will be the first to bring someone back from the dead.”

            Alphys was perplexed. “How? Getting that much energy...” She trailed off when she laid eyes on the red tank. “No...you wouldn't...” She said, horrified.

            “Wouldn't what? Utilize the power locked away in DT? Why wouldn't I? I just happened to have some lying around and I figured I would put it to use.” He said playfully, leaning on the desk which groaned under his added weight.

            She turned from Buell to Logan. “Logan, you have to understand, this is unimaginably dangerous. DT is far too volatile to mess with, especially with a monster body. I learned that the hard way, don't make the same mistake I did.”

            Logan turned to look at her, despair in his eyes. “I'm sorry Alphys. But...but I'm not ready to die. Not yet.” He turned around to face Buell. “Lets continue.”

            Buell nodded and grinned. “With pleasure.” He turned to the other two, flashing that triumphant grin. “He's spoken. Feel free to stay and watch if you want to, but please stay out of the way.”

            Alphys started to run towards Logan when Frisk grabbed the collar of her lab coat, pulling her back. “Don't Alphys. There's nothing we can do to stop him if he's doing this willingly.”

            Alphys was a coiled spring of anger. In an outburst she yelled at Logan. “Is Cosmin okay with all of this?!”

            Logan was silent, trying to ignore both Cosmin's renewed begging and Alphys' question. She didn't let up. “Its as much his decision as yours!”

            Buell turned to her, furious. “Be quiet! Logan needs to concentrate if he's going to do this. I will call security if you don't stay quiet and out of the way. You are _not_ ruining my big day.” He said menacingly

            Frisk pulled her aside and mumbled some words in her ear before letting her go. Now she was quiet, and very afraid for what was to come.

            Buell clapped his hands together. “Alright. All systems are go. Are you ready, Logan?”

            “Yes.”

            “Here we go!” Buell flipped a large breaker box set up on the desk, and the generator's pitched increased significantly, and a translucent blue dome appeared around the circle.

            “Turning on the DT pumps. Start using your magic Logan!” Buell flipped a couple switches and turned up a couple dials, and the red fluid made its slow steady march towards Logan. Logan began pushing magic out of his body as fast as he could expel it. It came out in a bright, hazy white beam which penetrated the bubble and diffused into the lines and runes on the floor. These began to glow, and colorful tendrils of magic began to weave themselves around the corpse in the middle of the circle.

            Buell was watching the screen intently. “So far so good Logan. Keep it up.” He turned the dials controlling the pumps up a couple notches and watched the screen again. As Logan continued to pour forth raw magic, the colorful tendrils continued to multiply, creating a dazzling light show, nearly completely obscuring the body.

            Buell began to look concerned, and the tendrils started to jerk and twitch rather than moving fluidly. “Logan, you need to give it more! The spell's starting to unravel, it needs more energy!” He turned the dials up a couple more notches.

            Logan pushed with a renewed effort, but he was starting to feel taxed already. Yet, as he continued to concentrate wholly on his efforts, he became aware that he was slowly feeling...weird. Like he was becoming more powerful, but in an uncontrollable way. Even as he felt more and more power, he seemed to be unable to give it any more than we was already giving, and Buell's prodding for more leached more and more desperation.

            The tendril's motions and colors became increasingly erratic, and started to punch up against the bubble surrounding the circle with a loud hum before being rebuffed back towards the body. The generator in the corner was getting loud now, struggling to maintain the increasing power requirements.

            Logan looked away from the circle for a moment, to examine his body as pins and needles ran over his body. His arms felt heavier, and heavier by the second, and with a horror he saw on his arms that he was _melting_ , rivulets of himself running down the side of his arm and sloughing off, hitting the ground with a wet splat.

            Alphys yelled over the increasing din. “Buell, you have to stop this now! You're going to kill Logan!”

            Buell was nearing panic as he adjusted controls and typed commands into the console. “No! We can't stop now! We're past the halfway point-”

            Buell was interrupted by Logan, who could no longer hold back a bloodcurdling scream as his body felt more and more pain. Buell's face turned white as a sheet, and he flipped the switches which would turn off the DT pumps.

            Still, the tank slowly emptied itself into Logan. “Something's wrong! The pumps won't turn off!” Buell started to move towards Logan, but then suddenly he was moving at a snails pace, his words slurring as if they were playing back too slowly. Frisk watched horrified, unsure of what was happening. Logan was still screaming in agony, and little rivulets of red began to run out of his quickly deforming body. Still, he continued to feed the insatiable spell, which was now barely contained by the field. Frisk started running towards Logan, not knowing what he would do once he got there.

            But he never got the chance to do anything. Logan felt his soul grow weak, fray, and then break in two, right before the spell in front of him breached the barrier and exploded faster than he could comprehend.


	14. Chapter 14

            Frisk startled in his office chair, banging his knees on the desk. He hissed in frustration, grabbing his leg. He chastised himself for doing that. He didn't expect to suddenly find himself back in his office when he had just been at Trinidad.

            Why was he here now? Then, horror crept through his chest. He needed to get over there to help Logan as soon as possible considering what happened before Frisk had been magically teleported back to his office. Pulling his cellphone out of his suit pocket, Frisk quickly unlocked it and started to dial emergency services to send someone Logan's way, but stopped when he noticed the time on his phone was wrong. It showed about a quarter past seven, which couldn't have been right since it was past eight when they'd started. To confirm, he looked at both the clock on his computer in front of him and the clock he kept on the wall. Both confirmed that the time was indeed a quarter past seven.

            Frisk was now thoroughly confused. How could he have possibly gone _back_ in time? It didn't make any sense, so he finished dialing Alphys and put the phone to his ear.

            A couple rings later she answered. “Hello? Frisk, I was just about to tell Logan today, you don't have to do anything. Like you said, it's all on me, and I'm willing to take that burden.”

            Frisk shook his head. “No, I don't care about that. Have you talked to Logan today?”

            The other end was quiet for a moment. “Uh, no. I haven't seen him yet. He's running late today which I'm...both happy and anxious about.”

            If Frisk remembered correctly Alphys  had called him about fifteen minutes later. She clearly didn't remember what happened with Logan. Then he had a thought. “Alphys, meet me downstairs in the lobby, and bring something to work off of. I need you to run some numbers, and time is of the essence. Get down there as soon as you can, and I'll explain on the way.”

            Frisk hung up, not waiting on her response. He needed to get moving as soon as possible to make sure that whatever happened didn't happen again. He dialed Logan's number, and he expected that he would have to leave a voicemail when Logan answered the phone.

            “Yes?” Logan said, anger clearly restrained from his voice.

            “Logan, I need you to listen to me carefully. I know about your thing with Buell today. I know that the two of you are going to try to make a new body for you to inhabit. I know that the procedure will end in absolute failure, killing both you and Cosmin.”

            Many moments went by in silence. “How'd you find out?” Logan asked quietly.

            Frisk hesitated. “...I have my ways. Whatever you do, don't go through with this. It will destroy both of you.”

            Dead silence on the other end of the line. When he spoke again, it was slow and deliberate. “How could you possibly know how this will turn out?”

            Frisk didn't know how to answer that without giving away his secret. Even then, he doubted Logan would believe him right now. “Call it a hunch. Would you consider least delaying a day so we can look into it?”

            Frisk waited several seconds in tense silence, suspecting that Cosmin and Logan were duking it out. Mercifully, Logan broke the tension. “Frisk, you're asking for me to delay the very thing we've been searching for this whole time on a 'hunch'? Because I respect you, I will wait a little bit. But unless you give me something more concrete soon, I'm going to go through with this today.” Frisk heard the beep signaling Logan had hung up on him.

            Frisk swore. He would have no choice but to go there himself and see if he can get talk him out of it in person. He practically leapt out of his chair and sprinted out of his office, towards the lobby to meet Alphys.

 

* * *

 

            Logan walked into Buell's office, and the two greeted each other before heading to the storage room that had been turned into an experiment chamber. When they walked in, however, two people were there waiting for them.

            “What's the meaning of this?” Buell demanded.

            Frisk was with Alphys over near the makeshift control station. They both looked up at the two people upon hearing them come in.

            “Buell, you're even more reckless than I thought.” Alphys said simply.

            Flabbergasted, Buell struggled to deal with the statement. “Wh-what? What in the world would make you say that?”

            “The fact that you were about to put Cosmin's and Logan's life in unacceptable danger. I've heard the gist of what you're wanting to try, and to do it would annihilate their souls from both the strain of converting and exposure to DT. Either you were reckless and didn't check your math...or you knew the risks and didn't tell them on the off-chance that this miraculously worked.” Frisk crossed his arms and stared Buell down, daring him to lie.

            Logan spoke up defensively. “Come on, Buell would never do anything stupidly dangerous with my life. Just because you felt like he cheated you when you worked for him doesn't mean you have to completely defame him in everything he does. Tell 'em what you told me, that it's perfectly safe.”

            Logan looked to Buell, who was now visibly sweating. “Y-yes...of course it's...safe...” He fidgeted in place, and neither Alphys nor Frisk were convinced. Logan's trust faltered.

            “Buell...you don't sound so sure now. What changed? You were so confident back when you proposed this to me.”

            Buell swallowed hard. “When I proposed to you, it, uh, seemed more likely. Then I started running the numbers like Alphys is claiming to have done and it seemed...a little less safe.”

            Now it was Logan's turn to be flabbergasted. “What? You assured me it was perfectly safe!”

            _Ha! I told you he wasn't looking out for us!_

            _Shut up._ Logan said.

            Buell got even more fidgety. “Well, uh, I was afraid if you knew the risks, you might...might back out. Not go through with it.”

            The betrayal hit Logan like a freight train. His next words were slow and deliberate. “What. Are. The. Risks.”

            Buell was speaking quickly, as if the words were spilling out of his mouth. “Logan, you gotta understand, I haven't had any big breakthroughs in years, and if we pulled this off then I would be practically immortalized in history. Who could forget the first man to bring someone back from the dead?”

            Logan spat his words out disdainfully. “I can't believe they were right. I _trusted_ you, and you were going to take risks without telling me? I am the one who is most affected by this, I deserve to know! Was it really that likely to kill me?”

            Buell didn't answer, but Logan wasn't going to give up so easily. He put his snarling, furious face mere inches from Buell. “Was. It. Likely. To. Kill. Me.” He said slowly and deliberately.

            “Yes.” Buell squeaked out. Logan's body tensed up, wanting so badly to strike Buell. His claws had come out, and it took every little bit of self-control Logan had to not swipe at Buell's face. Buell cowered, expecting a blow to come. Instead Logan opted to remove himself from Buell's presence before he lost control. He stormed out of the room, and only faintly through the mist covering his senses he heard footsteps come after him.

            After slamming the door on the wall, he saw his family sitting in a small lobby area a few doors down from the room Logan had just exited. They got up quickly and walked towards Logan, bewildered by his sudden and loud exit. He strode towards them, and managed to get to the lobby area before he they were even up and out of their chairs.

            “Logan, what's going on, are you okay?”

            “No. No I'm not. Buell lied to me.”

            “Lied to you? About what?” Now she was troubled.

            Logan was practically yelling now. “About everything. He told me that this stupid procedure would give me a new body without any risks. Well, it turns out that it is also very likely to kill not only me, but Cosmin as well. So now we're back to not having any solution which...”

            Elle wrapped her arms around Logan. “Shh...We...We'll figure something out.” Logan started letting out strangled sobs, which almost sounded like hiccups.

            After what felt like an eternity to Logan, he pulled out of the embrace and tried his hardest to put on a brave face for his kids. He smiled weakly, and bent down on one knee to address his kids who were standing behind Elle unsure of what to do. “Daddy's gonna have to stay like this for a little while longer.” He wiped his nose and sniffled. “But I'll figure something out. I will never leave either of you, okay?” They nodded, and Logan couldn't help but be proud of them. “Boy, both of you are so brave. I wish I had even an ounce of that courage.” He hugged them both, letting a few silent tears out while they couldn't see.

            He pulled out of the embrace, quickly wiping his eyes hoping they didn't see. Then he noticed that Frisk and Alphys were standing outside of the little group of people. Logan addressed them. “I suppose we need to talk, don't we?” Frisk nodded, and Logan turned back to his family.

            “I'll be right back.” He said, before following Logan and Alphys down the hallway away from the kids.

            They talked in hushed tones to keep their conversation private. “So what now? I suppose there's nothing left but to send me on me way.”

            “Logan, I'm very sorry. I wish we could do something more for you. I will at least ensure that your family is taken care of once you're gone.” Frisk said, trying to cheer Logan up. He tried to put his hand on Logan's shoulder, but he shrugged it away.

            “I appreciate that. Can you...give me a few days? To say goodbye.” Logan swallowed hard.

            _You never gave me a chance to say goodbye..._ Cosmin fumed.

            Frisk nodded grimly. “Of course. We'll get things ready for you in the meantime. If you want, I can give you a ride anywhere you need to go in my personal car.”

            Logan shook his head. “I think I just want to be alone with my family for a little while.”

            Frisk nodded, and Logan turned and headed back towards his family, not looking forward to this conversation. As he approached, Elle looked up hopefully at Logan.

            “Elle, we need to talk in private.”

            She glanced at the kids, then nodded. They stepped away from their kids, but kept them in sight.

            “So what's your next move, Logan? Even though this failed, maybe someone else might be able to find a solution.”

            Logan refused to meet his wife's eyes. “There really isn't anyone. Buell and Alphys were the best chances I had. Both have, apparently, failed. Which means that I failed everyone I love.”

            Even though he wasn't meeting her eyes, he could see her fire. “Logan, you did everything anyone could be expected to do. Don't you dare think that we will hate you for what you've done. You tried to do the impossible; and failing to do that is not much of a failure at all. Getting even the couple months we got was more than we could have ever asked for.”

            Logan nodded. “That truth still doesn't change the fact that our kids got their father back, only to have him taken away just as they began to get comfortable with him being around.”

            She sighed. “Yeah. We'll have to tell them at some point, probably soon.”

            “I'm not looking forward to that conversation.”

            “Me neither.” The two lapsed into silence, as they contemplated what they would need to do.

 

* * *

 

            Something was bothering Alphys.

            She sat at a workbench in her lab, absentmindedly toying with a small component. She was trying to build the device which would separate the two of them, but focusing on it was proving to be extraordinarily difficult. It was there in pieces on the workbench, and her soldering iron was sitting unused in its cradle.

            What was bothering her was Buell's idea. It was honestly kinda brilliant, one she'd never considered because of her past with DT. She feared the stuff like it was a plague, so using it had been out of the question. The way he was trying to do it could never work, but maybe...

            Her mind caught on to the thread of thought, gripping on to it with an iron fist. She sighed, and knew she might as well satisfy her curiosity before even attempting to finish what she was working on at the moment. She would not be able to focus on anything else even if she wanted to.

            She slid in her office chair over to a terminal, and pulled up the calculations she made along the way to confront Buell, and began manipulating the models.

            A few hours later she picked up the phone and called Logan.


	15. Chapter 15

            Logan, Frisk, and Alphys were all sitting in the lab, wherever they could find a seat. Frisk was on a stool, Alphys in her office chair, and Logan was using one of the counters. Logan had a scowl, and made no attempt to hide it.

            Alphys' enthusiasm was not dampened in the slightest by Logan's dour attitude. “I know you don't want to see me right now, but you'll feel differently once you hear what I have to say. I think I may have a way to give you your second chance.” Now she had Logan's full attention.

            “You better not be joking with me.” Logan said.

            “I wouldn't joke about this.” They both waited expectantly. Alphys continued. “Something bothered me ever since I ran the numbers on Buell's scenario. What he was trying could never be done, of course. Not with what's available to us. But the essence of his idea had some potential. I ran some numbers looking at an alternative version of Buell's plan, and it's actually within the realm of feasibility. Mostly.” She winced.

            “Mostly?” Frisk asked.

            She waved him off. “Let me explain what my thought is before we cover the risks doing it would be. Logan may not even want to do this once he knows what the end result is.” Logan stared at Alphys, now clearly doubting that anything good would come of this.

            “Okay, so here's the general idea. Buell was right that you can use DT to fuel your magic output. Knowing that we now have more magic available to us than any other being right now. With the extra power from DT, new and very interesting options open up.” Frisk waved her on, trying to get her to get to the point.

            “I think we can use Logan's ludicrously powerful magic to make him a monster body to hold his soul.”

            The room was dead silent as everyone chewed on this piece of news.

            “A monster body?” Logan said, stunned and unsure how he felt about that.

            “I know you want a human body Logan, but I'm afraid that is simply not possible. Magic is terribly inefficient when it comes to manipulating physical matter on such a fine scale. The human body is incredibly complicated, and its physical nature doesn't play well with magic. Monster bodies are much more attuned to magic, simplifying the process. That's not to say that making a monster body is easy; just easy relative to a human body.”

            Frisk wasn't sold. “Are you sure using any DT is a good idea? It did very bad things to the monsters that were a part of the DT experiments. Not to mention...” Frisk made a weird expression at Alphys.

            Alphys hated that he even brought that up right then and there. As if she didn't remember what had happened to them. “No. Frankly, I'm terrified of DT. But that doesn't change that it's within the realm of feasibility, even if it's risky.”

            “What risks?” Logan asked.

            “Well, lets start with the risks to you, Logan.” She took a breath. “Your soul may not be able to handle the process. Given that we'll be pushing your soul to do more than it was ever intended to, I can't say what the consequences might be. The models predict that your soul should be capable of it, but any after effects are completely unknown.”

            “What 'after effects'? What could happen to my soul?” Logan's voice had an aggressive edge to it.

            “Well, I don't know precisely what could happen. No one's ever tried to make a human soul do this; I can only guess, and not even an educated one at that. I could only guess that you might experience impairments, though their type and severity is unknown. I stress that 'might'; you may end up being perfectly fine after it. Of course, there's always the chance my models are wrong and your soul may not even survive the process and break before we could even attempt to move it to the new body. Or maybe it doesn't even survive the creation, and breaks before creation can be completed.”

            “There's a lot of unknowns in this equation...” Logan said, frowning.

            “Unfortunately there's even more unknowns. I'm not even sure a monster body could handle being bound to a human soul. It may not be able to tolerate the strength of the soul and simply melt into a tiny amalgamate. Or just simply dust from either the overwhelming power of a healthy soul, or be unable to maintain it with a potentially diminished soul.”

            A thought occurred to her. “Oh, and I can't predict what form you'll take. As a monster body is almost a projection of one's soul, it will take whatever form your soul forms it into. Neither I nor you can choose what that form is, and there's a real chance you end up in a form which would be very undesirable to you. Or it could work out just fine.”

  1. _Don't. Want. Any. DT. In. My. Body._ Cosmin said angrily.



            “What about Cosmin? How would he fair through this process?” Logan asked.

            “The risk to Cosmin is relatively low. Much lower than the risk to you, actually. His soul doesn't do the heavy lifting, just acts as a conduit, which his body should be more than capable of. And unlike Buell's attempt, I can regulate the DT to a level that can prevent excess from building up because you can actually output energy faster than we need to make this successful. There's always a chance I missed something, but it shouldn't be overly dangerous for Cosmin, if that's what he's worried about.”

            _See? You trust Alphys way more than you trust Buell. She thinks it would be relatively safe for you, and I take the brunt of the risk. Please just go along with this for me._

            Cosmin's voice was biting. _Why should I? I should be the one who has the final say, and I don't want to do it. But it doesn't matter, because you'll do it regardless of what I'll say. You proved as much earlier today._

Logan sighed, and the two looked at Logan. “Sorry. Something Cosmin just said to me.”

            _Do you really expect that I would just lay down my life?_

            “What'd he say?” Frisk said.

            Silence. Cosmin was contemplating something, that much he could tell. “Nothing. Just talking with him about Alphys' proposal.”

            _You were supposed to be dead. In fact, as far as most of the world is concerned, you are dead._

            _Yet here I am not dead, and not wanting to go back to being dead._

            Logan realized he'd taken an uncomfortably long time to answer. “Sorry, he's still talking to me. Nothing important to you.”

            Cosmin was silent again. _Fine. If it gets you out of my body, I'll go along. I'm just tired of all of this._ Logan heard the resentment, and suspected that he couldn't say anything else to help the situation.

            “We're all agreed on trying it then?” Logan asked, so hopeful for a yes.

            Frisk shrugged. “I suppose so, if Alphys is willing to try it.”

            She nodded. “Y-yes. I'll certainly try.” She was a little bit sweaty. “It'll naturally take some time to collect the amount of DT required, along with time to set everything up.”

            “How much time?” Logan asked.

            “Um, at least a few months? I don't know how much DT we can extract from you a day, so I can't say for sure.”

            Logan balked. “A _few months_?! I don't know that Cosmin and I could handle being stuck together for that much longer. There must be a faster way of collecting DT.”

            Frisk seemed pensive. “What if I donated as well? My soul type should yield more DT than Logan's, shouldn't it?”

            Alphys shrugged. “It would certainly speed up the process. We're still looking at months even with you donating as well.”

            “Maybe we could arrange for a donation program? I don't know the legalities of collecting DT from people, but I would bet there would be at least some who would donate to help Logan out.” Frisk said.

            _No, Logan. We are not doing anything with that slimy-_

            Logan interrupted them. “Ugh, I loathe the idea, but what if we asked Buell if we could use his supply? He certainly had ample amounts for what we need.”

            Frisk was incredulous. “You're chafing that much? That you'd want to even speak to Buell again, let alone ask for a favor like this from him?”

            Logan crossed his arms. “Well, I would say he owes me something as he was just about to put my life in danger. I'd call it even if he would let us have enough DT for our little experiment. If you had enough DT today, how long would it take to get everything ready?”

            Alphys bit her lip. “A week, maybe two. I shouldn't need to build much equipment to do this, but I need time to figure out specifically _how_ to do this.”

            “A week is a lot better than months.”

            _It could be over today._

            Frisk spoke next. “Fine. I'll call Buell, because I don't trust that you can keep a cool head. I'll figure out if he'll even help us. To be frank, I don't think he will.” He shrugged. “You never know though. Excuse me.” He left the lab, taking out his cellphone as he went.

            Logan got up to leave but Alphys stopped him. “Hold on. Before you go, I need to test something with you. If this doesn't work, then we're really reliant on our experiment working. Have a seat.” Logan sat back down on the counter-top, and from her lab coat she produced a small hand-held device that looked like a gun, but was missing its barrel. Instead, three glowing prongs were where the barrel of the gun should have been.

            “This shouldn't hurt, but I need to test to see if this works or not. Just hold still.” She put the prongs mere inches from Logan's chest, and pulled the trigger on it. The gun made a whine which increased in pitch, and then a simple _whump_ as it fired whatever energy burst it was designed to produce.

            Logan immediately fell over backwards, as if he had simply stopped supporting himself. His head hit the desk with a loud _crack_ , his horns stopping his head from hitting the counter top. Alphys immediately scrambled on top of the counter to figure out what happened to Logan.

            “Ohnoohnoohno. Logan?! What happened, are you okay?” When she got up on the counter, she noticed that Logan's eyes were no longer purple. Instead they were now green, and starting to move on their own.

            “Logan?” Alphys asked hesitantly.

            Logan sat up slowly, looking at his hands with incredulity. “It's not Logan. It's Cosmin.”

            Alphys was in awe. “It worked. It worked! Yes!” She raised her hands triumphantly.

            “Was this what it was supposed to do?” Cosmin asked.

            “In a sense, yes. The fact that you're back in control means it did what it was supposed to, temporarily disrupt the bond between your soul and Logan's. If you were to try, which I say you shouldn't, you could probably pull Logan's soul out right now.”

            Now Cosmin was in great conflict, and Alphys was quick to see it. “No, don't do it. If you do, then you doom him to die. The bond will be broken, not disrupted, and what we're trying to do will never work after that point. Or at the very least, if it did recover it would take several months.”

            The conflict didn't abate. “He nearly got me killed. And the whole time I was telling him to stop, he just ignored me. Only cared so long as I was agreeing with him.”

            Alphys' eyes went wide. “Did he really? That's...terrible.”

            Cosmin looked away. “Doesn't justify putting my life in danger. I suppose he only did it because he knew that if it failed, he wouldn't have to tell my parents that they lost their son, because he'd be dead. Like he's supposed to be.” Cosmin sighed. “It's so good to not hear him anymore. To have my thoughts just to myself. I can't go back to that.” His hand started to glow, but as he brought it to his chest it was wrenched away by Alphys.

            “Hey! Stop it! This is my decision!” Cosmin roared, as he fought Alphys.

            “No! I can't let you do this to Logan. Not when he finally has a chance!”

            The two fought for several seconds, Alphys just barely able to keep his hands away. Enraged, Cosmin snarled before pushing Alphys off of him. She fell to the floor, her glasses coming off and cracking.

            Cosmin was about to reach for the piggybacking soul when he clutched his head in agony, screaming before pitching forward and crumpling in a heap on the ground.

            Logan woke up a few seconds later, pushing himself off the floor with a groan. By this time Alphys had gotten up off the floor, and was currently hiding from Logan.

            Logan looked around the room uncertainly. All he could remember was blacking out, then waking up on the floor with Alphys looking like she expected him to tear her throat out.

            “What happened?” He got no response from Cosmin, who only responded with a new wave of rage.

            “L-Logan?” She said, from her place peeking over the countertop.

            “Yeah.” He grimaced as he rubbed his head from the impact.

            She got up warily from her hiding place. “I tested my original method of separation. You really don't remember what happened?”

            “No. I just remember blacking out. How long was I out?”

            Alphys grimaced. “N-Not long. Maybe only a few minutes? I n-never designed it t-to disrupt long, and I'm glad I didn't. You wouldn't be here right now if I had.”

            Logan raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, 'I wouldn't be here right now'?”

            She wrung her hands, staring off into space. “Cosmin just tried to destroy your soul. I managed to keep him from doing it...but now I'm scared for what happens if we succeed.”

            Logan's jaw dropped. _You did what?_ There was no response.

            “I'm so sorry. I couldn't do anything, and you have no idea what it means to me that you helped me like that.”

            Haunted, Alphys met Logan's eyes. “I hope I made the right choice.”


	16. Chapter 16

            A week passed in a busy flurry of activity. Frisk managed to sweet-talk Buell into letting them use his supply of DT in exchange for recognition that he played a part in the success, should it be successful, along with everyone's cooperation to keep things quiet about his previous attempt. This meant that the only thing they had to wait on was Alphys preparing everything.

            Two weeks later, Logan was standing outside the doors to the room where Alphys had set up the equipment for their experiment. His family was there, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu. He got down on one knee, and put a hand on each of his children's shoulders. “Alrighty guys, I've gotta go in by myself. I love you both, and I'll see you later.” He gave them a hug, and he heard them both respond softly, “I love you too.”

            Next he got up and embraced his wife. “I love you. I'll see you later.”

            Reassured by the promise that he would make it through this, she cried just a little bit. “I love you too Logan. Be safe.”

            He let go, then she she let go. He smiled at her, and turned and went through the door. Inside much of the setup reminded Logan of Buell's attempt. On the floor, like in Buell's attempt, there was a giant intricate circle, about 15 yards in diameter. In the center was a pile of a gray, dusty material. However, the difference was instead of a ring around the top, pointing down into the center was a floating metal pylon, with thick cables running off of it into glowing tank-like things about Logan's height. The was a simple stool sat in the middle, only about a few feet from the edge of the circle, next to a pump which connected to the tank of DT.

            Alphys was standing at a control panel behind the pumps, cables snaking from it to all of the equipment set up in the room. Frisk was standing behind her, body belaying his anxiety. He greeted Logan with a curt nod, and Alphys spoke. “Are y-you ready to get st-started?” She was sweating, even more uneasy than Frisk appeared.

            “Yes. The sooner the better.” He had a seat on the stool, facing towards the circle, and Alphys began wiring him up with more sensors than she'd ever used before. She struggled to put some of the sensors on because of her trembling hands. Once she'd done that, she picked up a tube running from the pump and gently pushed the fine needle on the end of it into Logan's back, before taping it in place. It hurt more this time than it had other times when Alphys had stuck needles into him.

            Logan sat there, trying not to think about how impossible what they were going to try was. Alphys was stammering behind him, at the control panel. “L-let me do another quick systems check. I j-just really want t-to be sure this is r-right.”

            Frisk's voice was calm, but firm. “Alphys, I've watched you run the systems checks five times now. You've set it all up properly, and everything checks out. This will work, because you're the one who planned it out. Lets begin.”

            “Y-yes, Frisk.” She cleared her throat. “Logan, I'm want to warn you that I'm going to use the magic energy stored in those glowing tanks to jump-start this process, but I'll need you to be already pouring magic into it, and you can't stop, period. Are you ready?”

            “Yes. Let's do this.” He took a deep breath, and began pouring raw, white magic into the circle. The circle didn't seem to respond much at all to Logan's input.

            “Starting the DT pumps. Charging the capacitor.” The pump behind Logan began humming, and a steady stream of red liquid was pushed through the tube into Logan. Simultaneously, the pylon hovering above the circle began letting out a hum, hungrily consuming the contents of the tanks which slowly dimmed until there was nothing left. The hum increased to a deafening roar, and then with a loud _bang_ , a white-hot bolt of magical energy shot out from the point at the bottom of the pylon, striking the pile of material in the center. This scattered it into a glowing white cloud, and the circle was instantly brought to life, glowing and pulsing in mesmerizing patterns.

            Logan pushed as hard as he could, but as time went on he began to feel fatigued, and it got harder and harder for him to hold up his own body and keep up the onslaught of magic. A vaguely humanoid form began to take shape in the middle, only barely visible through the glowing fog.

            Alphys yelled at Logan. “Logan, you gotta keep it up. You're not giving it enough!” Logan renewed his efforts, but in mere moments after trying again his body failed him and he slumped forward, unable to continue with his magic.

            “Logan!” Alphys screamed, before bolting to his side. He picked himself up, looking as confused as ever. “Logan, are you okay? You gotta keep going or else this won't work.”

            Fear crept across Cosmin's expression, but he wasn't about to give up for Logan's attempt.

“Cosmin's back in control.” He glared at her horrified expression. “Don't worry, I won't stop him now, but he owes me big time for this.” He resumed doing what Logan was doing, while trying to listen for his voice. He couldn't seem to hear anything from Logan, if he was speaking, over the din of the machines in the room.

            Alphys relaxed and returned to her control booth, worried about what Logan no longer having control might mean. She didn't have time to think about it, as she needed to pay very close attention to what was going on in front of her.

            The form in the circle began to take more definite shape, gaining detail until its features could be clearly made out, with most of the fog condensing into the form. It was reminiscent of a fox, its anthropomorphic body covered in orange fur, fading into black fur on its wrists and lower legs and feet. The head certainly looked fox-like, the white fur on the muzzle fading into orange fur like the rest of the body's. The pointed ears on the top of its head were black-tipped, with a pink interior. Its hands and feet had pads characteristic of its animal counterpart. There was only one thing that seemed out of place. On its head, plumes of feathers like hair graced the top of its head. They were dark-colored, but the ends of the feathers were a light purple. A long, bushy tail could be seen sticking out to the side.

            With a bright flash, the circle went dark. “It's done! You can stop now, Cosmin!” Alphys hollered. He stopped, and slumped forward, breathing hard from the ordeal. His body ached all over, and his hands burned. He heard feet scamper towards him, and quickly Alphys was standing in front of him. “Quick! I need you to give me Logan's soul. If we don't hurry, the body will turn back to dust without a soul to maintain it!”

            She was about to zap him with the little gun thing from earlier, but Cosmin when he saw what she was about to do sat bolt upright, and waved his hands in front of her to try and get her to stop. “Wait! I think I can pull him out right now. Let me try first before you hit me with that.”

            She dropped the gun to her side, and waited impatiently with a small, clear canister in one hand. Using his innate knowledge, Cosmin gently pulled Logan's soul out of his body. Alphys gasped when she saw what had happened to Logan's soul. Where she had expected to see a full, brightly-colored heart, there was only half of a heart. It looked as if it had been ripped in half right down the middle, the edges tattered and frayed where the other half used to be. It's rich color was now a sickly shade of purple, almost like it had a white pallor of death.

            Alphys got over her shock quickly and encapsulated the soul in the cannister before hurrying over to the body, which was lying on its back completely naked. Kneeling down, she took the soul gingerly out of the canister and gently pushed it into the body. She watched, tension mounting as the body didn't move an inch. Several seconds went by, she began to fear the worst. Then, so subtle as to be almost unnoticeable, he took a breath. Alphys watched, unsure if she was just imagining things until she saw him breathe again.

            “Frisk! Bring the gurney over here. We need to take him to the room that we'd set up beforehand, Dr. Shuya should be waiting there for you.”

            Frisk rolled the gurney that was pushed to the side of the room over to Alphys, unafraid of damaging the circle. He carefully bent down and picked up the limp body with a grunt, putting it on the gurney before wheeling it away out another door. Alphys walked over to Cosmin, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

            He waved her off. “Yeah. Just give me a minute to catch my breath.”

            “When Dr. Shuya is done with getting Logan situated, you should really let her have a look at you, make sure you're okay.”

            “I just might.” He said simply. As he sat there, Alphys carefully removed all of the wires and tubes from Cosmin's body. By the time she finished, Cosmin was ready to move, and she escorted Cosmin through the door Frisk took out of the room with Logan.


	17. Chapter 17

            Logan floated in the abyss.

            At least, that's what he thought it was. All he knew was he was now floating in an inky black void, unable to even see his own body. In fact, he didn't seem to have anything physical around, period.

            He didn't know what was going on. One moment he was sitting in the test room, his attention entirely on his part of the experiment, but then he faded into blackness, unable to even experience anything Cosmin was. It was terrifying to lose all of his senses.

            The only remaining thing that Logan could sense was pain. A dull ache that seemed to be in no place specifically, but everywhere. It didn't intensify, but it didn't abate. Logan screamed and thrashed in his private hell, wailing to whatever force put him there to take him back, let him finish what he'd started. When there was no response, he pleaded to at least know if he was dead. If they'd failed and he was now in some special hell meant for those who cheated death.

            Logan could not tell how much time passed. There was nothing to base a judgment of time off of. So for all he knew centuries had passed, his family long since dead and turned to dust. Or it could have been only mere seconds, the real world moving far slower to Logan than it should have.

            Whatever this was, Logan raged against his existence in this realm of nothing. He kicked, thrashed, flung his arms around. Or at least, that's what he thought he was doing. He couldn't tell if there was any effect on this place with his efforts, nor if his body was even moving. Or if he even had a body.

            In the darkness, Logan heard something faintly. It was so faint, and Logan's own voice was so loud, he wasn't sure if he'd heard it at first. He listened intently for an eternity. Then he heard it again, faint whispers against the utter silence. So faint, Logan couldn't understand them but he wanted to so badly. He tried to move himself towards the noises, but couldn't tell if he actually got any closer.

            When he heard them again, they were a little bit louder. “...watch him...” it whispered. “...he'll recover...” The voice sounded distorted, scratchy, like it was playing from a mangled tape.

            The voices continued to get louder, and Logan began to feel something rather curious. His body, weightless as it was, began to feel heavier, heavier, beginning to be drug down. Panicking, Logan tried to clamber back upwards, fighting the relentless force dragging him down until he collided softly with something solid. Firm. Logan was electrified by having some sense return, to feel something other than the incessant pain.

            He concentrated hard on what he felt, unable to do much else. He felt warm. Something was draped across Logan's body which felt to him like a blanket. Soft and comforting, it made wherever Logan was much more comfortable.

            He spent time listening to the voices in whatever place he was, their sound becoming clear and bright, loud at first, then quieting down to normal levels.

            “Do you think he'll recover?” A feminine voice asked. Logan recognized it immediately

            “Yes, I'm sure he will. His soul hasn't failed yet, and his body is showing no signs of failing either. We're just waiting on him to wake up. He's probably just recovering from the ordeal. It may take some time.”

            “Why don't you go home for a little bit Elle. I'll keep an eye on him and call you if anything happens, okay?” An elderly voice said. Logan was familiar with the sound this voice made, but he couldn't put his finger on who it was.

            “Mom, I can't leave him. You know that-” Elle said.

            “I know that you want to stay here with him. But it's been over a week now, and you've hardly left the hospital. Go home, take a shower, sleep if you can. I will call you the moment anything happens. Okay?”

            “Okay. Thanks mom.” Elle said, resigned.

            Logan felt something warm and reassuring grasp his hand. Logan tried to control whatever form he now felt out of, but couldn't feel any movement of his own. He wanted to acknowledge that he was there. That he was trying to come back to her.

            “I'll be right back Logan.” The hand pulled away, and Logan tried to move something, anything, and was rewarded with a tiny twitch of his finger. None of the voices made any comment or note of his movement.

            The feelings of touch and sound came in and out for a long time. Until one day, something seemed to click, like some critical piece of machinery clicked into place, bringing to life the world around Logan. He could feel, hear, smell, and even taste. He moved slightly, experimentally trying to understand what he was feeling now. He had a head, arms, legs. He heard motion beside where he lay, and someone calling his name.

            “Logan? Are you awake?” The elderly voice said softly.

            Logan opened his eyes slowly, as if the muscles in his eyes were learning how to move themselves. Bright, white light flooded into Logan's world, and now he was no longer in a void. He saw that he was in a white, sterile room. He moved his head to the left to take in where he was. It looked like a hospital room, but unlike every hospital room Logan had ever been in his bed was the only bed, and it was only big enough to accommodate one patient. He moved his head slowly to the right, muscles in his neck stiff, and he met the gaze of an elderly woman. She reminded Logan of his wife, and she was just as surprised to see Logan as he was to see her.

            “Logan? Can you hear me?” Logan nodded slowly. “How are you feeling Logan?”

            He took stock of how he felt. Everything was good, except for the dull ache, which was quickly now intensifying into sharp pain that his entire body felt. He groaned, the bestial sound that came out didn't sound right to Logan's ears. The next revelation that Logan experienced was he noticed the muzzle sticking out in front of his face. It wasn't colored black, like he'd been used to, but was instead white, with orange only faintly visible in the edge of his vision.

            “It...worked?” Logan croaked, his voice gravelly and scratchy. It didn't sound anything like his own.

            She grabbed his hand in both of hers, excited to see him awake and coherent. “Yes. It worked just as we'd planned it to.” He squeezed her hand gently, unable to do much more at the moment.

            The dots slowly connected themselves as Logan understood why he couldn't hear the incessant drone of another person's thoughts.

            “Let me go get the doctor, she needs to be informed about you waking up.” The hand left Logan's, and he watched her walk around the foot of his bed and out the door on the far side of the room. Mere seconds after leaving, Alphys came into the room followed by another monster Logan hadn't seen before trailed by the elderly woman, whom Logan finally realized was Elle's mother. The monster resembled a bird, with navy blue feathers on any bare skin Logan could see.

            Alphys was positively beaming. “You are awake. We were all beginning to get worried that...” She didn't finish the sentence. “Anyways, how are you feeling?” She asked, walking over to the machines stationed beside Logan's bed.

            “Not so good, Alphys.” Alphys whirled to face him, concerned. “It...hurts.”

            “What hurts?” She asked worriedly.

            “Everything. All of it hurts. My entire body.”

            “Considering the damage to his soul, I'm not surprised by that.” The other monster said in a clear, crisp accent.

            “Yeah, she's right. Your soul took a lot of damage, and pain from an injury of that caliber is to be expected.” Alphys said.

            “Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do for the pain.” The other doctor said. “If it was for some bodily injury, we could fix the injury. We can't fix a wounded soul. That will just have to heal over time...if it heals at all.”

            Logan become more motivated to figure out what his new body was like. He slowly moved his arms out from under the cover, both as stiff as his neck was. He examined the orange fur, flexing his hands as if to reassure himself that he was in control of this body. Feeling the fur, he found it to be quite soft and plush.

            Using his newfound strength, he pulled the blanket off of his body and saw what wasn't obscured by a hospital gown. He began crying out of joy, that he had actually done it. He slowly cried himself to back into sleep, but not back into the void. Instead, he was treated to dreams about what his future might look like now that he was alive again.


	18. Epilogue

            Logan sat on the park bench, watching his two children play in the park. It was a nice fall afternoon, the weather perfect for being outside. He sat there, thinking about the one year anniversary coming up. To think that it had been a year since he awoke in a new body was hard to imagine.

            He thought about how far things had come since the first day he went home with his family. He was weak then, barely able to move on his own, his body in constant agony. He needed someone there all the time to take care of him, which was hard on not just his family, but himself as well. Like all things, that time too came to an end and here he was outside with his children. Now he had a body which was strong, despite the relatively weak soul supporting it. His soul had never truly stopped paining him either. Now, however, it was much more bearable, enough so that Logan could keep it to himself.

            Getting used to the new body proved to be fairly easy. He was already used to a monster body, and while a small part of him still longed to be fully human, there were perks to being a monster. Logan quickly found that magic came just as easily to him now as it had in Cosmin's body. He delighted his kids with colorful displays, and made their friends more than a little jealous in the process. Unfortunately, he discovered quickly that his power had a hard limit. If he pushed himself too hard, his body was quick to punish him. For a while, his ability increased, but within the past few months it had plateaued. Still, some magic was better than none, even if it couldn't compete with the most powerful monsters.

            His family, for their part, adjusted faster than Logan could have hoped for. Logan's immediate family was quick to embrace him, which was a blessing to him. More distant family and friends took some time, but it, unfortunately, proved hard for some to accept Logan in his new, monster form. So some friends drifted away, and Logan let them go. He couldn't blame them, really.

            Cosmin had come away relatively unscathed, at least that was what they told Logan after he'd woken up. He was so exhausted that he slept for a day straight. The two of them had a silent agreement that what they knew of each other's secrets would stay secret. They didn't talk a whole lot these days, but still kept in touch with each other, even spending time together given the right occasion. Cosmin still held some animosity towards Logan, but Logan was working to amend that. It wasn't easy, but Logan had nothing but respect for the monster when he learned that it was Cosmin who finished when Logan failed.

            No one was more shocked by their success than the world at large. The knowledge that a human soul could be implanted into another body offered a very tantalizing prospect that no one knew how to deal with. Never in the history of humanity had anyone been able to live beyond their human body, which prompted governments around the world to furiously revise their laws. Not that anyone else had tried it yet, though there were more than a few who would be willing to try. Many were watching Logan with bated breath, to see how much more life one could gain from the process.

            Frisk was busier now more than ever. Humanity now expressed great interest in the new power that monsters could wield, which Frisk worked to reign in. He worked to get laws and regulations which would prevent abusing monsters for this power, along with preventing those which would harm his cause from becoming law. Progress was slow, as was everything in politics, but if anyone was determined to succeed, it would be Frisk.

            Logan's musings were interrupted by a shrill call, which came from his daughters, demanding that he come and push them on the swings. So he did, pushing them until they were squealing in delight from the heights Logan's strength could push them to.

            Everything was right in Logan's world.


End file.
